The One Where They Meet At High Flyers
by R.TreeHill
Summary: Nathan and Haley meet one summer at High Flyers where he's a new athlete and her dad is his new coach. What happens when she finds out he's her best friend's roommate? Or when she begins tutoring him? NH.
1. Chapter 1

"Congratulations. You've been selected to be a part of this prestigious basketball summer program. Here you will be trained and treated as professionals and be pushed past the limits in order to see your potential. This program has seen many exceptional and talented players come and go. You might even find them on ESPN. So, again, I congratulate you for taking part in this history. Now let's see what you've got." Coach Jimmy James blew his whistle after Clay Evans gave his rehearsed speech. He gives it every summer to both new incoming athletes and returning ones because High Flyers truly is a privilege.

Evans and James took notes on the athletes as they went through the short but vigorous practice exercises.

Each player was selected from schools across the East Coast. If they were there, they were the best. And Nathan Scott happened to be there. After all, he was his high school's best player. Never once did he have to compete for his captain spot back home. But being here, as he's running suicides, he notices that every single player was in sync. Each one was making those runs and keeping up with him. He knew he had to be faster, stronger even—overall, better—if he wanted to grab the attention of Clay Evans, a sports agent who is responsible for the career of past successful High Flyers alumni. So, Nathan pushed himself.

Two hours later, the athletes were given a break for water and bathroom runs as well as socializing. Nathan was taking a sip of his water when he heard the gym doors open accompanied by a loud bang when it closed.

He turned to see who had just entered and was shocked to see a girl. High Flyers is specifically for male athletes and he found it odd that a girl was in their gym.

He noticed she kept walking, ignoring some of the attention, mostly stares, she was getting. She was just about to pass him when she looked in his direction. She looked directly at him and he swore he saw a ghost of a smile on her face.

She quickly looked away when he returned her gaze and continued walking until she reached one of the players. The player happened to be Nathan's roommate. They had met that morning when they moved in. His name was Jake. Nathan concluded he was an alright guy; they got along just fine. He saw that Jake was lying on the benches with his eyes closed listening to music through earphones. When the girl approached Jake, she kneeled down and swiftly took out one of his earbuds.

"Hey!" Jake called out. His irritation quickly replaced with joy as he realized it wasn't an annoying player but his best friend.

"Hey back," Haley smiled. The two shared a quick hug. "Gross! You're all sweaty." She playfully pushed him.

Jake ignored her and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I work here now. Remember? Or did you lose your memory?"

Jake shook his head at her sarcasm. "You know what I mean."

Haley laughed. "Quinn sent me here to drop something off for Clay. I just thought I'd stop by and say hi first. So, hi."

"Hi," Jake smiled back.

"So where is he anyways?" she asked looking around.

Jake pointed to the direction of the offices just as Clay walked out.

He began making his way towards his wife's little sister. "Baby James."

"Hey BIL!"

Clay rolled his eyes at the nickname his sister-in-law had given him. He's tried to get her to stop, but to no avail. Now he just ignores it the best he can. "What are you doing here?"

"God, why does everyone keep asking me that?" she asked exasperated. Clay looked at Jake for clarification to which Jake responded with a shrug. Oblivious the boys' actions, Haley continued, "Quinn sent me. She told me to give you this." She handed him the brown bag in her hand. "You forgot it this morning." It was his lunch.

"Thanks." He took the bag from her and gave her a quick side hug. "Come on, since you're here I can introduce you to the guys." Clay blew his whistle and instructed the players to huddle around him. "As you may know High Flyers chose each one of you for your ability and talent on the court. Not so much in the classroom. Some of you are fine in that respect. Some of you are not. So this summer we've instilled the help of someone whose ability and talents does lie in the classroom to assist those who want help."

He motioned for Haley, who up to this point had been standing behind him, to join him on his side. She shyly took a step forward. "This here is Haley James. She's a tutor and will be helping those who want it this summer." Clay continued, "You'll be receiving more information later on. You can go back to your break."

* * *

The camp had a strict curfew and schedule for the athletes. They were to be in their dorm by 9:00 and lights out by 10:00.

Nathan was flipping through his sports magazine when he heard his roommate curse under his breath.

Nathan glanced up to his left to see Jake take out his earphones and connect his MP3 to a plug.

Nathan had previously deemed Jake a decent guy, but he didn't really know him. He looked back at his magazine and moved himself to get to a more comfortable position when he winced in pain.

"You okay?"

Nathan looked up surprised, he didn't expect for his roommate to make small talk. "Uh, yeah. Today's workout was killer. You don't seem too fazed by it, though."

Jake softly chuckled. "Yeah, I'm used to James and Evan's routine."

"This isn't your first year?" Nathan asked intrigued.

Jake shook his head. "Technically it is, at least as an official player." Nathan gave him a confused look so Jake took it as a sign to elaborate. "I know James and Evans personally. They let me come in to train at the camp last year as a favor to a friend."

"No kidding. That's awesome, man."

"I thought so." Jake smiled. "I'm also gonna be a senior at Oak Lake in the fall. What about you?"

"First time. And I'm gonna be a senior at Tree Hill."

"Ah. The Ravens. Our rivals," Jake teased.

Nathan laughed. "Guess so."

After continuing to talk and getting to know one another, they heard the floor's supervisor yell, "Lights out!"

Jake offered to stand and turn the switch off since Nathan was still sore.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem. I gotta say though, you had me thinking for a while that you were one of those 'I didn't come here to make friends' type of guys," Jake admitted.

"I am that type of guy, you just seemed too pathetic sitting by yourself at break so I'm taking pity on you," Nathan joked.

Jake playfully scoffed. "Please, man. I have friends. Just you wait and see tomorrow."

Nathan couldn't help but wonder if that girl he had seen Jake hug was one of those friends.

* * *

"So the cool thing about this place is that the food doesn't suck too badly. Yesterday's was pretty good but I wouldn't get my hopes high for any gourmet shit." Jake passed a tray to Nathan. They were in line for breakfast and Jake was telling Nathan how things run around High Flyers.

After filling their plates, Jake headed towards a table and Nathan followed. He was thankful Jake was going to show him around today. After talking last night he came to the conclusion that having friends wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Jake stopped at a table with two occupants and placed his tray down before sitting and gesturing to Nathan to do so as well. "Guys, this is Nathan, my roommate. This is his first summer here. I'm showing him around. Nathan this is Tony and Antwon, or as we call him, 'Skills.'"

"Nice to meet you," Nathan said.

"Welcome to High Flyers newbie," Skills said.

"Thanks. Can I ask why they call you Skills?"

The guys at the table laughed. "'Cause I got skills on and off the court."

"Please," Jake scoffed. "He's just full of it."

Skills, offended, replied, "Excuse you, but I exude confidence. Don't hate because you got none."

"Yeah? That's not all you exude. Just wait until after practice and you're drenched in sweat," Tony rebutted.

The guys laughed at the table while Skills gave Tony a ' _really?'_ look. "Man, you just jealous."

"Yeah, whatever."

Skills rolled his eyes at their jabs. "So newbie, where you from?"

Nathan looked up from his plate. "Tree Hill."

Tony and Skills yelled, "Ay!" while pointing at Jake.

"Y'all know you eating with the enemy?"

Nathan and Jake shared an amused look. "Yeah I know. I told him I'd spare him for the summer."

Nathan was officially glad that he chose to befriend Jake. He was also hitting it off with Skills and Tony. He found out they were also incoming seniors at different high schools and had met Jake the previous year.

"I don't remember meeting anyone from Tree Hill here last summer," Tony said.

"Yeah that's because there wasn't," Nathan responded. He noticed how all the guys gave him an expecting look for him to elaborate. "My school only funds incoming seniors to High Flyers. I guess no one was good enough."

They guys nodded, knowing how tough it was to get accepted into the camp.

"So who'd you beat out to get here?" asked Tony.

Nathan chuckled. "Uh, my brother actually."

All three guys' eyes opened wide.

"No way!"

"You serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious," Nathan confirmed.

"Damn, blood rivalry. How'd he take it?" asked Jake.

"Alright. I mean he was bummed, but when he realized he would be spending the summer with his girlfriend instead of 20 other guys, he calmed down."

"Smart man," Skills pointed out.

"So what about you guys?" asked Nathan.

"I was the only applicant," Tony answered.

Skills gestured to himself suggesting he was clearly the best.

"What about you Jake?"

"No big competition. Couple of good players but nothing I couldn't beat. Last year was tough though. There was another player who wanted the spot and he eventually got it. But anyways, that's why Coach James and Evans let me come and train with them."

"Really?" asked Nathan shocked.

"Yup," Jake nodded.

"So you were both that good?"

"Yeah, I mean I guess we were. Hell, he knew it too."

Nathan saw Tony and Skills nod in agreement.

"What do you mean?"

"He means he was a cocky son of a bitch," Skills responded.

"So he knew he was good. So what? Isn't that just confidence? Like you said," Nathan questioned.

"Man don't compare me to West!" Skills exclaimed offended.

Jake spoke up quickly before Skills went on a rage rant. "Look, there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. It's alright to know you're good. No problem there. It's fine if you express it appropriately. But when you start to walk around like some holier than thou bitch that we should bow down to, then we got a problem. West had that problem."

"Good to know," Nathan replied.

Skills changed the subject when he stated, "Oh, hot damn. If it isn't Miss Fine Ass Quinn Evans."

Nathan turned his direction to where the guys were looking at. Nathan had to admit she was attractive.

"Man I swear she gives me major MILF feelings," Tony replied.

After seeing Nathan's confused look, Jake added, "She and Coach Evans have a 4 year old son. You'll see him around a lot. He's a cool kid."

Nathan nodded in gratitude for the background and was about to turn back to his plate when he saw that girl who hugged Jake yesterday.

She walked into the dining hall, hand in hand with a little boy—Nathan could only assume that's who Jake was talking about just seconds before—and headed straight for Mrs. Evans.

Nathan nudged Jake. "Isn't that the girl you were with yesterday?"

Skills chuckled. "Baby Girl."

Jake shook his head amused. "Yeah, that's Haley. She's Quinn's little sister."

"She's practically yours too, Jagielski," Tony added joking.

Jake rolled his eyes at his friend's comment and explained to Nathan. "She's my best friend. Has been for over a decade."

"Really?" Nathan asked curiously. "So you two never...?"

Jake profusely shook his head and adamantly answered, "Hell. No."

"Now don't lie, Jagielski," Skills teased.

Nathan looked at his roommate with a curious look.

Jake rolled his eyes. "We dated for like a week her freshman year of high school and only because she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend so nobody would bother her. I don't even think you can call that dating anyways."

Nathan nodded. "So what's she doing here? Just visiting?"

"Not really. Her dad's Coach James. And Evans is her brother-in-law. She's spent her summers here for as long as she can remember. And this year she wanted to help out. She's the tutor Evans was talking about yesterday."

Nathan remembered.

* * *

"Mommy!"

"There's my boy!" Quinn exclaimed with her arms outstretched. She grabbed hold of her running son and embraced him. "Did you have fun with Bobby?" That was the name Clay had designated Haley after finding out Haley-Bob wasn't just a pet name. Haley lets it slide since he lets her call him Bill. It was supposed to be an appeasement, but it ended up sticking and that's how Logan refers to his aunt.

Logan nodded. Quinn smiled at her content son before putting him down. "You hungry? Because I had Chef Lenny make your favorite."

Logan's eyes widened in excitement. "Pancakes!"

Quinn laughed. "That's right. Come sit down."

After placing him in front of his meal, Quinn turned towards Haley. "Thanks again for taking him last night."

Haley nodded. "No problem." She smiled as she watched her nephew practically devour the stack of mini pancakes. "You and Clay enjoy a quiet night?" she asked.

"Yeah, we did. But it wasn't all that quiet." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Haley playfully gagged. "That's gross Quinny."

She shrugged her shoulders as if to say whatever. "I got Logan from here, you can go hang with Jake if you want."

Haley glanced to where Jake was sitting. "Nah. Maybe later. It looks like he's with friends. Do you need me to babysit later? Jake's mom is gonna bring up Jenny and I figure since I'm already taking care of her, Logan can tag along."

"No, I think we're good. Thank you though."

Haley gave her a tight smile. "No problem. Um I'm gonna head out. Go take a walk or something."

Quinn nodded. She hopes Haley will be okay being back here. She insists she is, but returning could bring up bad memories. Then again, ten months is enough time to mend a broken heart.

* * *

 **I.**

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm so glad to be back with another chapter story! I decided to upload this a little ahead of schedule because I want the pressure to finish writing it—it's completely outlined FYI. And don't worry, I've learned my lesson about making promises on my updates, so I won't do that anymore but I will try my best to update as soon as I can. Anyways, I want to say thank you for all the feedback and support I've gotten for my other stories, they mean a lot. So please, please, favorite & follow if you like this first chapter and leave a review letting me know what thought :)

\- R. xx


	2. Chapter 2

Nathan had spent the rest of that morning hanging out with Jake, Skills and Tony. They just finished a quick tour of the place and were walking into the gym for practice. The guys were laughing at some joke one of them quipped when Nathan saw Haley again. She was sitting at the end of the bleachers reading. She looked peaceful, almost entranced, despite all the noise in the gym.

"Hey I'm gonna go say hi to Haley real quick. I'll be right back." Jake patted the guys before heading to the bleachers.

Skills and Tony nodded. Nathan watched as Jake headed towards the blonde. He looked away when Skills suggested they shoot some hoops for fun.

"Hey."

Haley placed her finger on the last paragraph she just read then looked up. She smiled at her best friend approaching and folded the corner of the page before closing her book and setting it down.

"Hi."

He sat down and joined her on the bleachers. "What are you reading?"

"What do you think?"

Jake grabbed the book that sat between them and rolled his eyes. " _Les Miserables_? Again?"

Haley shrugged. "It's my favorite."

"Yeah, I know. You've read it like 10 times." He placed the book back down.

"Is that why you came here? You ditched your friends including that new one just to bash my choice in reading material?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, actually, I didn't. I came to ask if my mom called you about Jenny." He challenged her with his own raised eyebrow. "How do you know I have a new friend anyways?"

"I saw you having breakfast with someone I didn't recognize." That was technically a lie, Haley had seen him before, yesterday actually. "Figured you wouldn't have eaten with him if he wasn't a friend."

"Oh. Well yeah, he's actually my roommate. His name's Nathan."

"Oh," Haley offered. "Um, about your mom, yeah she did call. She's dropping Jenny off later today. If you want I can bring her by tonight before your curfew. After dinner maybe?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Hales," he said gratefully. He leaned in for a hug. "This means a lot. And in case I haven't said it lately: you're a good friend."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know," Haley replied playfully.

Jake laughed. "So what are you doing in the gym?"

"Clay asked me to stop by and explain the tutoring program." It was the first year High Flyers would be offering it and Haley was a little nervous to say the least, but she wouldn't dare let Jake know.

Jake curtly nodded. Haley noticed the silent disdain he was sending her way. "Jake, we've talked about this."

"I know!" She gave him a look that challenged his disapproving one. "Look, I may not be happy about you tutoring this summer but I said I'd support you."

"Thank you," Haley smiled.

"No problem. Do you want me to keep you company until practice starts?"

Haley shook her head. "Nah, I'm good. I actually want to get back to my book." She emphasized by raising it in her hand.

Jake chuckled at her impatience to return to her novel. "Alright. Well if you need me I'll be over there warming up. I'll see you later."

She nodded then waved before returning her undivided attention to _Les Miserables_.

* * *

Nathan was sitting on his bed, relaxing from another day of stressful conditioning. He was just wishing for the day the routines they made him do became just that: a routine. He wants to be at that level already where he no longer feels sore. He aimlessly flipped through the channels on the television until he finally arrived at the one he was hoping to find—ESPN.

He watched carelessly on until he heard a knock on the door. He figured it was Jake coming back from the shower who had probably forgotten his keys. Nathan lowered the volume on the TV and yelled, "Coming," after hearing another knock. He expected to find his roommate standing wet, wrapped in a towel, frustrated with his long response to open the door. Which is why he also didn't bother putting on a shirt. Instead, Nathan came face to face with the brown eyed girl who had spoken to the athletes just hours ago.

 _"Tutoring is completely optional, but it's definitely recommended to those who struggled this past school year. I'll leave a sign-up sheet in the coach's office for those who are interested. There's a form you'll need to fill out to explain what you'd like help in and what time is good for you. Um, if you have any questions about the program just find me after practice. If I'm not on the bleachers I'll most likely be in the office." Haley glanced towards the coaches. "I think that's it."_

 _Coach James cleared his throat before thanking his daughter. "Thank you, Haley."_

 _She smiled in return before heading in the direction of her previous seat. She listened on as her father and brother-in-law spoke. She looked up when she heard some of the players laugh at one of their jokes. She took a glance over at the crowd and stopped at her best friend who was laughing with his friends, old and new._

She opened the building's door with her free hand, careful not to disturb Jenny. She was a calm baby most of the time and rarely fussed or cried unless she needed a feeding or a change. The baby's loved ones were thankful for that, especially her father who was a young high school student. And now the baby's godmother, Haley, who would be taking care of her nights and mornings for that summer.

Haley continued to walk through the hallway, ignoring the stares she was receiving. She finally reached the door she was looking for. She knocked once, but no answer. For a moment she thought she had the wrong room.

Haley propped the baby bag on her shoulder once more before knocking on the door a second time. She looked at her goddaughter and smiled at her peaceful state. She couldn't imagine a world without her.

 _"Are you sure?" asked a shocked Haley. When he had called earlier telling her he was coming over, this was not what she expected would happen._

 _Jake let out a frustrated sound. "Well the five pregnancy tests she showed me seemed to be pretty sure." He had been pacing up to this point, anticipating an expected reaction from his best friend._

 _"Jake..." she paused. She couldn't fathom how he could let this happen. "How could you two be so careless and irresponsible?"_

 _"Hey! We were careful!" Jake argued._

 _Haley scoffed. "Clearly you weren't."_

 _"Hales," he warned with a hard stare._

 _She looked at him and studied his face. Though he had on that tough look, she knew he was scared. She knew that the last thing he needed was a lecture. It happened and what was done, was done._

 _She sighed. "So Nikki's pregnant."_

 _"Nikki's pregnant," Jake repeated. He slowly slid to the floor and used Haley's bed as a prop to keep him sitting up. Haley joined him on the floor and watched as he pulled his knees close to his chest and placed his head in his hands. "What am I gonna do, Hales?" he asked desperately. "I mean, I'm still in high school. How am I supposed to take care of a kid when I still am one?"_

 _Haley's eyes teared up as she saw one of the strongest people she knows break down. "Jake, you're going to be a great father if that's what you and Nikki decide to do."_

 _"How can you be so sure of that?" he asked vulnerably._

 _Haley smiled. "Because you're the best guy I know. And because you're the best, I know you'll do the right thing and stand by that baby and Nikki. Besides, you'll have me to help you."_

Haley was knocked back to the present when the door opened. "Hi," she greeted with a smile. She tried her best not to blush at the shirtless male in front of her. "I'm looking for Jake."

Nathan had stood still, completely blindsided by the unexpected visit. "Uh, right. He left to take a shower a while back. You can wait inside if you want."

"Thanks." She stepped inside after Nathan opened the door wider to let her in.

"I'm Haley by the way. And this is Jenny."

Nathan hadn't noticed the baby before, but after she mentioned it he couldn't believe how he could have missed such an important detail. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nathan. Jake's roommate."

Haley let out an amused chuckle. "Yeah, I figured."

Nathan mentally scolded himself. "Right." He watched as she placed the baby bag on the floor and Jenny's car seat on Jake's bed. "He should be back soon."

Haley nodded in gratitude. She then proceeded to sit down next to Jenny on the bed and watched as she cooed.

Nathan smiled at the sight. "How old is she?"

Without looking up, Haley replied, "8 months. She turns a year old in October."

"She's cute." Haley looked up and saw his mesmerized face.

"She is," Haley agreed. The two shared a smile before looking away. "So, um, do you normally make a habit of walking around shirtless?"

That's when it hit Nathan that he still hadn't put on a shirt. "Oh. Sorry about that. It just gets a little hot in here sometimes." He tried his absolute best to keep himself from replying with a cocky remark, he was learning. "If it'll make you feel more comfortable I can put on a shirt."

"Don't." He gave her a surprised look then smirked. But before he could respond she immediately clarified, "I mean you don't have to unless you want to. This is your room after all and it's really none of my business on what you wear or in this case don't wear. It was just an observation of mine that you lacked a particular item of clothing." Haley felt her face getting redder. She had just finished one of her infamous ramblings and she knew Nathan found it amusing judging by the smug smile on his face.

"Is that your subtle way of saying you were checking me out?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow. So much for keeping his remarks to himself.

Haley immediately scoffed. "Please. You make it seem as if I've never seen a shirtless male in my life. Well I have news for you mister, I've seen plenty." She saw his eyebrows raise in interest and she realized what he assumed she just implied. "I mean that I've been coming here every summer since I was like five that I've seen guys without their shirts. I'm not implying that I'm some sort of slut or something."

"I didn't say you were."

"Well you were clearly thinking it."

"What makes you think I was thinking that?"

"It was all over your face."

Nathan was amused by this conversation and especially by her last line. He crossed his arms and smirked. "So you were checking me out?"

Haley laughed in disbelief at this guy's cocky demeanor. "Listen-" She was about to give him a piece of her mind when he cut in.

"I'm only messing with you," Nathan laughed.

She was about to reply when she heard a knock on the door.

"That's probably Jake," Nathan voiced. He left his position and headed to the door.

Haley was still sitting dumbfounded on the bed, replaying what just happened in her head. Upon hearing the door open, Haley heard Nathan say, "Forget your keys?" She turned to see and saw Jake nod. His basketball shorts hung on his hips, his shower caddy in one hand and his towel secured around his bare neck.

"It won't happen again," Jake promised.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Jagielski," Haley teased. She decided to get over what just happened with Nathan.

"Hey! Sorry, I just thought you were coming by later or else I would've been back sooner." Jake leaned in to hug his best friend.

Haley pulled back immediately. "Ew, dude you're all wet."

"Sorry," he said unapologetically. "How's my girl?"

"A little tired from chasing Logan around earlier, but besides that I'm alright," Haley replied.

Jake sent her an unamused look. "I meant my daughter."

Haley laughed. "I know. And she's doing pretty well. Hasn't fussed since she was dropped off."

"That's good," Jake replied. By this point he had placed his shower caddy and towel down and was currently unbuckling Jenny from her car seat. "Thanks for bringing her by." He was so content holding his daughter in his arms again.

Haley smiled at the sweet sight. "No problem." She glanced away for a second to see what Nathan was doing and found him on his bed sitting, watching in awe as Jake continued to hold the baby. "I take it Jake left out that he was a dad."

Nathan's attention slowly turned to the girl. "Y-yeah. He might've left that out."

Jake sent his roommate an apologetic look. "Sorry, man. I just assumed you knew since everyone else pretty much does."

Nathan waved it off. "Don't worry about it. She's really beautiful though. Bet she gets it from her mom." He then sent Haley a pointed look and she just about broke her neck at how fierce she was shaking her head.

"Me? You think I'm her mom? No, no, no, no, no. Oh dear God no," Haley declined.

"Glad to know you find me so repulsive, Haley," Jake said sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." She turned to Nathan and explained, "I'm not her mother. I am her godmother though."

"Sorry for assuming. So where is-" he stopped himself from continuing his question after seeing Haley feverishly shake her head no and wave her hands telling him to stop.

Jake hadn't seen Haley's movements so he asked, "Where is what?"

Nathan quickly thought of something to replace his previous question about the whereabouts of Jenny's birth mother. "Uh, where is Skills and Tony? I figure I could give you some time alone." He then headed to his closet to grab a shirt.

"Are," Haley corrected.

"What?" he asked as he pulled the shirt over his head.

"'Where _are_ Skills and Tony?' You used ' _is_ ' which is singular," Haley clarified.

Nathan looked at her bewildered. "Thanks?" he said questioning.

"They're probably in the lounge," Jake finally replied.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you guys later." He was about to leave when Haley's voice stopped him.

"Wait, do you mind if I walk out with you? Jake I'll be back in a bit. I just want to stop by the office to pick up the sign-up list."

Jake waved her off after Nathan nodded.

The two began to walk when Haley decided to suddenly speak. "Sorry about earlier."

Nathan turned his head to look at her. "What for?"

"For my reaction," Haley elaborated. "I might have made it into a bigger deal than it was."

Nathan let out a chuckle. "Don't worry about it. Besides I'm the one who kept egging you on. It's a quality I'm working on."

Haley laughed. "Right." She slowed her pace once they reached the main door which happened to be connected to the lounge. "Wow, looks like the lounge is full. And look, there they are." She noticed Nathan's hesitant look. "Something wrong?"

"No. It's just, I don't feel like dealing with a lot of people right now. Do you mind if I come along with you to the gym?"

Haley had felt a little disappointed that their walk would've ended so shortly so she didn't mind at all. "No. Let's go."

"So this is the coach's office?" Nathan asked after Haley unlocked the room.

Haley nodded. "Yup. Be thankful that your first time in here is voluntary."

Nathan laughed at her quip. He watched as she turned on the rest of the lights and headed to the main coach's desk. She took out the same ring of keys she had used to get inside of the gym and the office to open a drawer. As she did this, Nathan took the seat across the desk.

"Hey, this is pretty comfortable," he commented as he let himself get situated in the seat.

"Yeah, my dad likes to joke that he chose it for that purpose. While he's chewing off some player's head, at least their butt will always feel nice." She began to look for a specific folder within the drawer.

"That's right. Jake mentioned your dad was Coach James. He seems like a good guy."

Haley took a break from her search to look up at Nathan. "Who? My dad or Jake?"

"Both," he answered, though it sounded more like a question.

Haley laughed as she continued to look. "My dad _is_ a good guy. He's really tough on his players though. So don't feel too bad if he lets you have it, he's just really passionate about the game and wants to make sure everyone's doing their absolute best."

Nathan soaked in her words. What a striking difference Coach James and his father were.

"Ah-hah! Found it."

Nathan was amused at Haley who looked like a little girl who had found her lost puppy. He then witnessed as her happy appearance turned to a confused one. "What? Is that not it?"

She shook her head, "No, it is. It's just," she looked up at him. "Why didn't you tell me you signed up to get tutored?"

* * *

 **II.**

* * *

 **A/N:** Just want to let everyone know this story _will_ go beyond summer and we'll see more of the Tree Hill gang then. Thanks for reading  & don't forget to favorite/follow & review :)

\- R. xx


	3. Chapter 3

"Why didn't you tell me you signed up to get tutored?" Haley asked.

Nathan was a bit taken back from her question. "Um, I don't know." He shrugged. "I figured you'd find out eventually, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she replied dismissing her previous sentiments.

"So you ready to head back?" Nathan asked before standing up from his seat.

Haley nodded. "I just need to lock up."

* * *

"You guys up for a game of pool after lunch?" asked Tony as he slapped some deodorant under his arms. They were in the locker room, freshly showered from that day's work out. Nathan was drying his hair with a towel, Jake was almost done changing and Skills was still attempting to open his locker.

"Man, two summers I've been here and I still can't get these open!"

Jake laughed at his frustrated friend. He casually nudged Skills to the side and opened the locker with ease.

Skills shook his head in irritation at how easy it was for his friend to open it. "Thanks, man."

Jake nodded. "No problem. And I'm gonna have to pass on the game. I figure I can take Jenny off of Haley's hands tonight."

Nathan's ears perked up at the mention of his new tutor.

"How is baby girl anyways? Ya know after being back here and all." asked Skills.

Nathan kept his focus on getting dressed but couldn't help his curiosity.

Jake smiled. "She's doing good." He was happy to report that status.

Skills nodded. "Well just let her know we got her back."

"Will do."

Nathan wondered what could have happened that Skills got a protective tone to his words.

"Nathan."

"Huh," he looked to his left. Tony was giving him a weird look.

"I was calling your name, man."

"Oh, sorry. I must've spaced out. What's up?"

Tony gave him an amused look. "You up for a game of pool tonight?"

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

"Coming!" Haley opened the door to find her best friend leaning on the porch's front railing.

"It's about time." Jake pushed himself off the wooden railing. "What were you doing anyways?"

Haley rolled her eyes at her impatient friend. It had only taken her a few seconds to get the door after his first knock. "I was in the kitchen."

She noticed the way his eyes lit up at the mention of kitchen. "You make anything?"

Again, she rolled her eyes. "No. I was in there working."

"Oh that's right. You gotta make your own lesson plans." He proceeded to plop himself down on the living room couch and promptly put his feet up on the centered coffee table. "How's that coming along anyways? Anybody sign up for tutoring?"

Haley followed him to the couch but not until after kicking his feet off the table. "Yeah someone did."

"Really?" he asked shocked. "And do they actually need it or is it someone else trying to get in your pants?"

She gave him an unamused look.

"Sorry. I should've stopped myself."

Haley nodded in agreement with her arms crossed. "Yeah, you should've."

"Anyways, you still haven't answered my question. I need to know whether I should prepare myself for some ass kicking."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Please spare me the protective brother act. It's getting old Jake."

"I'll stop once you get a decent enough boyfriend, one that I pre-approve, who will then take care of that end for me. Or I'd at least get backup."

Haley glared at Jake. Despite his playful tone she knew he was serious. Last summer was a terrible time for her. She had had the misfortune of falling for someone who only wanted her body when she had given her heart. It's been a year now. It was a heartbreaking experience, but she's healed now, for the most part. That summer may have made her into a more cautious person, but she doesn't see that as a weakness. On the contrary, she views this new side of her as a strength. That next time she feels strongly towards someone she'll take the time to see if her feelings are reciprocated genuinely and sincerely.

"I doubt he's anything like Damien." His name left an awful aftertaste in her mouth.

"Yeah, well you never know. You can't always trust these guys."

"Well this guy hasn't given me a reason to mistrust him yet. So like a good person, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt."

Jake sent her an unconvinced look. "You sure that's a good idea?" Jake softened his look and tone. "Keeping your guard down is what got you hurt last time Hales."

She smiled tightly at her best friend. She loved him dearly but ever since she got her heart broken he's felt it necessary to baby her as if _she_ was his daughter. "Jake, I appreciate the concern. But I'll be fine." She patted his knee before getting up from the couch.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked, looking up at her.

She stopped to reply. "Kitchen. I have to finish."

"Well, will you at least tell me what the guy's name is?"

"Sorry, no can-do. Tutor-student confidentiality," she said as she walked on.

Jake watched as she left the room. "Well will you tell me where my daughter is? Or at least where the remote for the TV is?"

* * *

"Nice shot."

Nathan smiled smugly. "Thanks."

"You play a lot?" asked Tony as he readied himself for a shot.

"Sort of. There's a bar in Tree Hill with a good pool hall," replied Nathan while he chalked the tip of his pool stick.

Tony smiled knowingly. "Fake IDs?"

Nathan smirked. "Yeah."

Skills looked on impressed. "Wow. Who knew the white boy had it in him."

Nathan's smile faltered a bit. He had done a lot in his past he wasn't proud of. And it was this summer that he's been trying to make up for it. Which is why he voluntarily signed up for tutoring which came about after he had talked to Whitey about him considering turning down his offer from High Flyers.

 _"What are you yapping about, boy?" Whitey was at his desk when his best player walked in on the last day of school to say he was going to turn down the offer to go to High Flyers._

 _"Look, Whitey-"_

 _"It's Coach Durham to you. School may no longer be in session but I better damn well still receive your respect."_

 _"Sorry Coach," Nathan apologized._

 _"That's better. Now what were you saying? Something about not going to High Flyers? Now why would you do that son?" This time Whitey asked him in a softer tone after seeing Nathan's conflicted face._

 _"I just don't think I deserve the spot."_

 _"Now unless you're telling me you bribed that committee to give you a spot, you better explain yourself."_

 _Nathan sighed. "It's just after everything with my parents. Me emancipating and moving out. I don't think I should go. Plus I finally got away from Dan's hold over me and maybe letting basketball go will set me completely free of him."_

 _Whitey stood from his seat behind the desk and made his way to face Nathan. "Now you listen to me and you listen good Nathan. You're a good player. No, a great player. And I've known you long enough to know that you already know that, just as much as your father does." Whitey noticed Nathan wince at the mention of his father. "Now what you don't often hear is this: you're a better player than him," Nathan looked at Whitey like he was crazy and attempted to interject but Whitey wouldn't let him. "Now let me finish first. Not only are you a better player Nate but you're a better teammate and a better person. And you will go to High Flyers because you did earn it. You hear me? You earned it. Not Dan. But you!"_

 _Nathan gulped at the intensity of his coach's words. "Yeah, but-"_

 _"No buts boy. Now you're going. The only catch is that you have to do better in school next year. No college team is going to want a straight D student. Promise me you'll try next year?"_

 _Nathan nodded. "Yes sir. I promise."_

"So you still go often?"

Nathan was brought out of his daze with Tony's question. "Uh, yeah. But just for pool. The drinking and party scene got a little too old for me."

Tony nodded in agreement while Skills looked on confused. "Well damn. What happened that turned you off from a good time?"

Nathan laughed at Skills words. "Nothing man. It was just all the same stupid shit going down. Every weekend, same people getting drunk, same hangover the next day and it starts all over the next week."

"Well next time I'll take you to a real party and show you how it's done. That's no way to live, man."

Nathan chuckled and nodded out of courtesy.

They went back to their game and continued playing for another round before heading back to Nathan and Jake's room. To their surprise, Jake was back and with him was Haley and Jenny.

"Hey guys," Haley greeted.

"Baby James!" Skills exclaimed. He reached for her and pulled her into a big bear hug. "How are ya baby girl?"

Haley giggled as he put her down. "Good, how are you?"

"Better now that I got to see my favorite platonic female friend."

Haley shook her head in amusement at the words he used to describe her. He had stated from their first meeting that she was cool, too cool for him to have a thing with since she'd seem like a better friend than anything. She didn't disagree. He was a great friend too.

Next Tony stuck his way in to give Haley a hug. "How are you Tony?"

"Great."

"And how's your sister doing?"

"Good. She made honor roll."

"Really? That's great! I knew she could do it."

"Yeah thanks to you. My family really appreciates what you did. Ya know? With all that helping."

Haley waved it off. "Really it's nothing Tony. It was all her, trust me."

"Well, still, thank you."

Nathan watched on as Haley continued conversing and catching up with Tony and Skills. He admired how attentive and caring of a friend she was.

"Hi Nathan."

He realized it was his turn for her to greet. "Hey."

"Do you mind if we talk? Outside?"

He nodded unsure. He didn't know what they could possibly have to talk about.

"So I thought we could discuss when you'd like to meet for tutoring sessions. I know on your application you want to go over math and history the most and I figure the sooner we start the better."

Oh that's right. She would want to talk about tutoring. "Oh, uh. Well whatever doesn't conflict with your other sessions." He noticed how her face fell a little.

"That actually won't be an issue seeing as you're my only student this summer."

"Really? Are you serious? No one else signed up to get tutored?"

Haley shook her head. "Nope. Turns out not everyone wants to spend their summer doing school work. Big surprise there."

"Right," Nathan chuckled softly.

Haley nodded. "Anyways, that means I'm free whenever."

"Okay, well how about mornings? 7 or 8 am. I'm usually up around that time since I'm used to morning practices from back home. Unless that's too early?"

"No that's fine. 8 will work. I'm also usually up by those times. We can meet out by the pond. There's this picnic table we could sit at."

Nathan nodded. "Sounds good. So should we head back in?" He asked pointing to his dorm's closed door.

"Actually before we do, is it okay if we tell Jake I'm tutoring you? It's just that he's basically my brother and I know its tutor-student confidentiality but he's kind of this overprotective freak that likes to know everything about me. But if you really don't want anyone or him to know I won't say a word."

Nathan was shocked. Both at her consideration towards making him feel comfortable about getting tutored and also by how fast she just spoke. "Uh, yeah that's fine. I mean he is my roommate after all."

Haley sighed in relief and instantly she felt more relaxed. "Oh my God thank you Nathan!" She unexpectedly threw her arms around his neck, surprising both him and her. She immediately let go after and followed by apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry! I'm kind of a hugger and I didn't even value or think about your space."

"It's fine. Really. Don't worry about it," he insisted.

"You sure?"

Nathan replied confidently, "Positive." After all, what guy would complain for getting a hug from a beautiful girl?

* * *

 **III.**

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review if you liked it &if you haven't already, please favorite/follow :)

\- R. xx


	4. Chapter 4

"So how old are you?"

Haley looked up from her folder with furrowed eyebrows. It was their first tutoring session and she had just finished setting everything out for them to start. She was taken back by his question to say the least, especially given that they had previously been sitting in complete silence for at least two minutes before he spoke up.

"I turned 16 in February. Why?" she asked perplexed.

"So you're gonna be a junior?" Nathan ignored her last question.

Haley nodded. "Yeah. Why?" she asked again.

"I'm just curious as to how someone younger than half the players is gonna tutor them."

"I'm kind of advanced for my age," Haley answered quite defensively. She saw Nathan nod and tried her best to try to read his face. "So do you want me to tutor you or not because you did voluntarily sign up and I made the lesson plan already."

"No, yeah. Sorry," he quickly apologized, after all he truly hadn't meant to offend her. "It's just. I guess I'm a little intimidated," he admitted.

She looked up at him and saw he was serious. "You're intimidated?" He nodded. "By what? The tutoring?"

He shook his head. "No, by you."

Haley gaped her mouth open. She wanted to ask _'How?_ ' but nothing came out.

Nathan noticed so he elaborated. "You're really smart and you're a year younger than me. That's intimidating. You got your whole life ahead of you."

Haley blushed at his comment. She never was one for taking a compliment. "Yeah, well what about you Mister Big Shot? What with all your perfect free shots."

Nathan chuckled. "I think you mean free throws." You'd think with a dad, brother-in-law, and best friend involved with basketball she'd know at least know the correct terms.

"Whatever," she replied with a dismissal shake of her head. He chuckled again. "From what I hear you're one of the best players here and it's only your first week. Imagine once you finish your training here. You got your whole life ahead of you too, Nathan."

Nathan's been complimented before on his talent, but up until now, he'd never felt they were sincere. She sounded as if she said those words just because she meant it and felt it was true, not for some ulterior motive like to be his friend or to date him or to get him to do something. He felt grateful and even a bit shy at the way she was looking at him.

"Thanks," he finally replied.

She smiled sweetly. "You're welcome. Why don't we start?"

* * *

Coach James was in his office looking over plays when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in."

The door slowly opened, revealing his daughter's best friend. Jimmy James smiled at the boy he treats as a surrogate son and removed his reading glasses. "Jagielski, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Jake smiled at his coach and took a seat across the desk. "Nothing much. Just thought I'd hang out for a bit before practice starts. That okay?"

"It's fine Jake. A little early for you isn't it though? If I remember correctly you usually like your beauty sleep," Jimmy joked. It was fairly early and still at least an hour before practice was supposed to begin. Jake had woken up to the loud slam the door made after closing shut despite Nathan's attempt to stay quiet that morning. Jake figured since he was up he might as well stay up.

"Yeah, Nathan kind of woke me up this morning before he left," Jake explained.

Jimmy looked up from the papers sprawled on his desk to the boy who was now attempting to lie comfortably on the seat across from him. "Nathan Scott?" he inquired.

Jake nodded with a yawn in response.

"He's your roommate, right?"

Jake looked at his coach funny. "Yeah. Why?"

"Scott's Haley's only student. Did you know that?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah. They told me the other night."

"Can I ask you something, Jake?" Jimmy leaned forward which prompted Jake to sit up straight and do so as well.

"Yeah, anything Coach."

"I'm asking not as your coach, but as one father to another. Is this boy, Scott, trustworthy?" Jake sighed. He should've seen this coming. After all, after last summer Jimmy didn't even want Haley to return, let alone start the tutoring program. Tutoring was a hobby of Haley's at her high school and she wanted to bring it to High Flyers. Jimmy was originally against it, arguing to his wife it would give her too much interaction with other players which was something he hoped to avoid due to last summer's fiasco. But because both his wife and daughter were persistent and stubborn women, he gave in. He just hoped it wouldn't be a repeat of the summer before, seeing his little girl heartbroken tore him apart. Jimmy James doesn't think he could bare a second one.

"Coach, I've only known Nathan a week. So, honestly, I don't know if he's trustworthy. I do know he's an okay guy though. And the fact that he's my roommate will give me an in to see if there's any other motive. Bottom line, I'll keep an eye on him."

Jimmy nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, Jake. I appreciate that. I'd also appreciate it if you keep this conversation between us, we both know how Haley can get if she finds out we're being 'overbearing and overprotective'," he stated adding air quotes for affect.

Jake laughed knowing the ladder was true. "Don't worry Coach. It's all good."

* * *

"How was your first day tutoring Haley Bob?" Lydia asked her daughter. The two James women were preparing dinner.

"It was good," answered Haley with her focus on the vegetables she was chopping for the salad.

"Just good?" came up Quinn from behind to steal a piece of cucumber from Haley's salad bowl.

Haley sent her sister a quick look of mock-anger before returning to her task and forgetting to even answer Quinn's question. Lydia, on the other hand, remembered and looked up from stirring her pot to follow through with her own questions.

"Now what are you getting at Quinny?"

She shrugged as she sat herself down across the counter island. "Nothing, it's just I figure tutoring such a handsome young man might be kind of distracting."

Haley rolled her eyes at her sister's suggestion.

"Handsome?" inquired Lydia while staring at her youngest daughter.

"Handsome. Hot. Same thing," Quinn stated nonchalantly.

"What's his name Haley-Bob?"

Before Haley could respond someone else did. "Nathan Scott. He'll be a senior at Tree Hill High and is turning out to be one of our best point guards this season."

Quinn grinned at her husband's interference. "And don't forget he's got a killer smile and sharp jawline."

"You looking for someone to replace me already?" joked Clay. He came up behind his wife and put his arms around her. He followed up with a kiss on her cheek. Despite their constant and basically nauseating PDA, Haley still found them adorable and hoped to achieve something like that one day.

"Relax Clay, if Quinn were looking I doubt she'd find it in a jailbait basketball player," quipped Haley.

"Ah-ha! So you agree he's attractive enough to be jailbait!" exclaimed Quinn.

Haley shook her head in disagreement. "All I said is that he's underage." She paused from her task to lift her knife. "And you should be careful with the words you choose to say next because I'm holding a knife."

Quinn lifted her hands in defeat. "Fine. I give. For now." She loosened Clay's grip on her and stood up from the stool she was sitting at to get closer to her younger sister. Haley placed her knife down and waited in anticipation for what Quinn would end with. "All I'm gonna say now is that I don't see anything wrong with a little eye candy." Quinn followed with a wink that prompted Haley to laugh and shake her head.

* * *

Jake and Nathan were sitting solo at a lunch table. After a few pleasantries Jake asked, "So how was tutoring?"

"It was alright," Nathan answered.

"Just alright?" Jake pushed.

Nathan looked up from his meal and furrowed his eyebrow in suspicion. "You fishing for something?"

"Not in particular. I'm just curious how it went."

Nathan relaxed. "Oh, well. Like I said, it was fine."

"What are you girls gossiping about?" asked Skills as he approached the table with Tony behind him.

"Nothing," Jake replied the same time Nathan said, "Tutoring."

"You're getting tutored? By Haley?" asked Skills incredulously as he and Tony took their seats.

"Yeah, so?"

"Nothing man, just... Does Jake know?" he half-whispered in Nathan's direction.

Jake sent Skills an irritated look. "Of course I know you idiot. And if I didn't I would now since I'm sitting right here."

Skills grimaced and under his breath quickly apologized. "How's that going?" asked Skills with a tense tone.

"How's what going? Tutoring?" asked Nathan. Skills nodded. Nathan narrowed his eyebrows again. "It just started. Why?" he questioned.

Nathan didn't miss the look Skills sent to Jake and the way Skills, who's normally very sharp with his tongue, stumbled with his words. "N-no reason."

They didn't speak about tutoring for the rest of lunch but the way Jake and Skills acted towards him made Nathan a little suspicious. Still, he kept those suspicions to himself thinking he was probably just overreacting. Besides, why would they care if he was getting tutored?

* * *

 **IV.**

* * *

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought &if you haven't already: favorite/follow(:

\- R. xx


	5. Chapter 5

"God! I don't get it!" Nathan exclaimed frustrated. It was their second week tutoring and he didn't feel like he was getting anywhere.

"It's okay. I can go over it again with another method," suggested Haley.

Nathan shook his head adamantly. "No, I don't think so. This is just too hard for me."

Haley studied his composure: frustrated and on the verge of anger. She thought quickly on the spot and brought in a subject he was more familiar with. "What about basketball? And all those plays?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking up from his over erased worksheet.

"How do you get them right? I mean do you just do them naturally?"

Nathan shook his head. "No, they take practice, obviously."

Haley broke out into smile. "Exactly! Same with math. It takes practice and concentration. Studying the exact moves and seeing how it all works, except with math it's formulas and numbers."

Nathan still looked unfazed.

"Tell you what. I'll give you another worksheet to take and do on your own time," she ignored his groan, "and next session I'll give you a practice quiz. If you get at least 80% you'll see that practicing and studying works. Deal?" She stuck her hand out.

Nathan eyed her hands, contemplating whether this was a fair trade off. "And let's say I do get 80%, what do I get?"

Haley dropped her hand and furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Nathan shrugged. "I'm just saying. If I'm putting in my time and effort, what are you gonna do?"

Haley contemplated his words. "Well what do you have in mind?"

Nathan smirked. "I get 80% or higher on this quiz and you become my personal cheerleader for a week."

"What?" Haley laughed at the audacity of the request. "That's absurd!"

"That, my genius tutor, is the deal. Okay?"

Haley shook her head at his words. She asked with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms, "And if you don't get 80%? What do I get?"

"If I don't... Well what do you have in mind?"

"Hmm," she placed a finger on her chin to emphasize her thinking, "You have to help me babysit my nephew Logan this Saturday. All day." Clay and Quinn were going out and wanted Haley to babysit.

"Fine, deal," Nathan agreed. The two shook hands firmly.

* * *

"Good game guys," Skills stated. He, Tony, and Jake had beat Vegas, Troy, and Matt—fellow High Flyers players—at a friendly game of pickup basketball.

"Yeah, and the next one will be even better when we beat your asses," promised Matt.

"We'll see about that," Jake chimed in.

The athletes were approaching their dormitory building and as they neared they noticed a fellow ballplayer inside the lounge.

Matt noticed first, asking, "Is that Nathan?"

"What's he doing in there?" asked Vegas.

"I don't know but have you guys noticed he's been pretty MIA lately?" asked Matt while giving Jake a pointed look.

"Why are you looking at me?" Jake said.

"'Cause you live with the dude."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Look it's none of my business what he does off the court and if you guys care so much why don't you go in and ask him yourself. I'm going inside to take shower. See you guys tomorrow at practice." And with that Jake headed inside followed by Skills and Tony.

Troy, Vegas, and Matt shared a look before entering the building also, except they headed right instead of straight where the dorms were.

"Yo Nate!"

Nathan looked up from his worksheet at the players that just walked in. It was Vegas, Troy, and Matt. All really good players and decent guys. At least Troy was, Vegas was still on trial and Matt appeared to be the asshole of the three. But Nathan didn't think he was aiming for asshole territory, it just happened to be his personality.

"Hey," Nathan nodded.

"What're you doing?" asked Troy.

"Uh, just math," Nathan answered a little uncomfortably under their probing eyes.

"Math huh?" Nathan noticed Vegas cocking his head closer towards the worksheet he'd been working on for the past half hour. "You getting tutored by Coach James's daughter?" asked Vegas.

Nathan nodded silently. His face scrunched in confusion at the guys' faces. They looked surprised but interested. Why the hell would they care if he needed help in math?

Matt spoke up, "Nice. I thought about signing up for that but when I headed to their office Evans gave me a look that basically told me to get lost."

"How come?" Nathan asked curious.

The guys shared a look before Matt answered. "Probably has to do with last year. Apparently one of the star players got pretty close with her and the two had a thing. Lasted almost all summer. Then last day of camp he dumped her."

"I heard it was brutal," voiced Troy.

Vegas nodded in agreement. "Basically a hit and run. I'm surprised she's even back to be honest. I'm also surprised you even got a chance to sign up. I heard Coach doesn't want anyone near her."

The revelation shocked him obviously, but aside from wondering if it was true or if Haley was okay, Nathan had another question: "Does Jake know?" He has to, right?

Matt scoffed. "Course he knows! The whole fucking camp knew. Plus, I have a friend who goes to Oak Lake and he said West was sporting a shiny black eye on the first day of classes. I have no doubt it was Haley's guard dog who did it."

Nathan did a double take. "Wait, did you say West?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, man. Damien West. Star point guard. He was here last summer before his senior year. He was gonna come back to visit this summer after graduation as part of training week. Guess Coach James gave him the axe after what he did to his daughter."

"Huh." Nathan did not expect that, not with what he had heard about West and what he knew about Haley. They seemed like such an opposing pair. Then again, he is pretty different from Haley himself. And he did have his share of mistakes. One thing's for sure: he isn't a jackass or narcissist... at least not anymore, he's been working on it after all. Wait, why is he even thinking about that. Haley is just his tutor who is turning into a pretty good friend. Right?

"Anyways, nice going Scott. And who knows, maybe you'll bag her too," added Matt. Nathan was too caught up in his thoughts to react fast enough before the guys left. He did gauge their reactions though. Matt's look of approval, Vegas's accompanying laugh, and Troy's irritated and disgusted look towards his immature friends. See, Nathan knew Troy was alright.

Nathan attempted to return to his math problems but his mind was clouded with the knowledge he just learned. Was it true? And if it was, to what extent? He quickly grabbed his worksheet and pencil and headed out to get some answers.

* * *

"Bobby? Where are you?"

"I'm in here Logan," Haley called out from the hallway storage closet. She was kneeling looking through boxes.

"Granma told me to tell you that dinner's almost ready."

Haley looked behind at her nephew. "Ok, thanks buddy. You can tell grandma I'll head downstairs as soon as I find what I'm looking for."

"What are you looking for?" asked the now curious four year old.

"One of your old baby toys that you don't play with anymore for Baby Jenny."

"Can I help?" he asked excitedly.

Haley laughed at her overly zealous nephew. "I think I got it for now. You should head back or else Grandma will get mad and you'll get in trouble." She saw the sullen look on his cute face. "Tell you what," she clapped her hands to get his attention, "if I don't find it in the next five minutes I'll give up and after we eat you can help me. Deal?" she finished with her hand out.

"Deal!" replied Logan before running off.

"Careful with the stairs!" yelled Haley before returning to the boxes.

After one more box she was almost set to give up. However when she opened the next one she silently thanked the heavens for what she found—Logan's old baby stuff including his toys. Bingo. She went through it and pulled out what she thought would be fun for Jenny. She placed her hand all the way in only to feel the material of a book at the bottom. Maybe it's an old children's book, she thought. She grasped onto it only to be shocked to see what it really was—her old notebook.

* * *

Jake was tying his shoelaces when the door opened. "Hey man." He greeted his roommate.

Nathan nodded back. He wasn't sure how to approach the subject without overstepping his boundaries. What the hell. Why is he kidding himself? There's no way he can't ask without doing that. He quickly blurted out what he wanted to ask before his roommate could say anything else. "Did Haley date that West guy you hate so much last summer?"

* * *

Haley was impressed with herself for not forming tears as she realized what she was holding. It was full of last year's summer memories with the boy that broke her heart. Pages were full of detailed date nights and poetry and lyrics written about her first 'love'. What a joke, she scoffed.

* * *

Jake was just about ready to clasp his knees, say his goodbye to Nathan, and head out for dinner with the James and his daughter. Well, he guesses he's gonna be more than just a little late like he initially thought. "Where did you hear that?" he asked suddenly guarded.

"Does it matter?" challenged Nathan with a raised eyebrow.

Jake sighed and looked to the door, he could technically make a run for it. Plus he doesn't really owe Nathan any answers. "Look, it's not my place to say."

"So it's true?" Nathan gathered.

"No! I mean yeah, I guess technically they did. But the dude was a total ass-wipe and I'd rather not acknowledge that time. And what does it matter to you anyways?" asked Jake, a little accusingly.

In retrospect, Nathan should've been prepared for that question. Why _does_ it matter to him? But he didn't think this far ahead so it took him by surprise. "It doesn't," he quickly recovered. "I was just curious that's all. I was kind of blindsided by it and wanted to see if what people were saying was true."

Jake took a complete 180 and looked at Nathan with anger in his eyes. "What are people saying?"

Nathan had never seen his normally calm roommate this unhinged. Maybe he did give West that black eye. "I-I don't know, man. Just that Haley had a thing with one of the players last summer and he was West. And that apparently they had a pretty bad falling out too."

Jake looked away with closed eyes and fists. Nathan was prepared for any hit coming his way in case Jake wanted to use him as his own punching bag. Thank God it didn't come to that or else he and Damien West would have more than just basketball and Haley in common—he didn't want to add black eye by Jake added to that list.

"Look, all you need to know is that Haley was hurt by some jackass pretending to care about her," this time it was Nathan with closed fists and Jake noticed. "You can put those away Slugger. It was all taken care of by the time school rolled around."

"Yeah I heard you gave West a gnarly black eye." Jake laughed at his comment and Nathan had no idea why. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, man. Just forget about it. And know that the only reason her dad, Clay, and I are okay with her tutoring you is because she's stubborn and your grades were apparently too messed up to fake and not need a tutor."

Nathan rolled his eyes at Jake's jab. "Thanks."

Jake chuckled. "You're welcome. And take that as your official warning. Now I gotta get going. I'm late as it is. I'm having dinner with the James. Don't wait up."

* * *

Haley heard her name being called from downstairs.

She called back saying, "Go ahead and start without me, I'm not that hungry!" She then cleaned up and took the toys and journal back with her to the room. She set the toys down on the bed before sitting at her desk. She thought she already had closure but this was her last step before officially moving on. Haley tore the journal apart. Ripping every last page of it leaving it with just its cover and back. She then pulled out another notebook, a clean one that was hidden underneath the lesson plans she had made for Nathan. She opened it to the first page and did something she hadn't felt like doing for a long time: she began to write.

* * *

 **V.**

* * *

\- R. xx


	6. Chapter 6

"Well?" he asked impatiently. Haley was currently grading his quiz and he was dying to know if he'd have a cheerleader for the following week.

"Hold on I'm counting your score," she replied as she flipped through the pages.

Nathan nodded in appeasement. A few more agonizing seconds later and he'd find out.

"Here you go." Haley capped her correcting pen and handed Nathan back his quiz.

He eagerly took back the paper. "A 78%?! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Sorry Nathan, a deal's a deal and you didn't reach 80%. However you did much better than last time so I'm proud of you." She began to pack her stuff. "I'll see you Saturday?"

Nathan looked up confused and slightly excited at that prospect.

"To babysit my nephew," Haley clarified.

"Oh! Right. Sorry, I forgot. But yeah. Saturday. At your house right?"

She nodded. "See you then, bye Nathan."

"Bye," he waved.

* * *

Nathan was nervous as he approached the steps to the front porch. By the time he lifted his hand to knock his hands were shaking.

After he knocked he heard Haley's voice followed by some footsteps. The door opened and Nathan was surprised to find it wasn't Haley at the entrance but the little blond boy he had seen in the cafeteria. Before he could greet and introduce himself the little boy spoke.

"You're tall."

Nathan laughed at the boy's comment. "Yeah, I am. Thanks."

The little boy looked Nathan up and down in a protective way. "Are you Nathan?" he asked after a short pause.

Nathan did his best to hide his amused smile at the way the boy was treating him. He felt like he was picking up his prom date and being interrogated by a father. "Yeah, that's me. And you must be Logan."

Instead of answering, Logan responded, "Follow me," after opening the door wider for Nathan to come in.

Nathan, now rethinking his presence there, entered the house. Despite it being a summer home for the James as Haley mentioned to him, it sure seemed like they put a lot of effort in making it a real home what with all the tasteful furnishing and decorations.

"Nathan, hey! I see you met Logan," Haley smiled as she approached the boys. Nathan smiled back while Logan headed towards the living room. Haley neared Nathan, "Sorry if he wasn't the warmest host. His dad told him to keep an eye on you." Haley playfully rolled her eyes as Nathan laughed. "I know, it's ridiculous. Anyways, he's honestly a really cool kid," she promised. "You'll see. Come on." She grabbed his hand and guided him to where Logan was.

And Haley was right, though Nathan never doubted her. Logan _was_ a really cool kid. After proving he was trustworthy, Nathan won over Logan. Nathan helped Logan build one of his plane models and after letting it dry the two went outside to the yard to fly it. It had crashed, and much to the surprise of Nathan, Logan stated that was his favorite part.

And after lunch Logan spend the rest of the afternoon talking to Nathan about his comic books and the two participated in a heated conversation about who their favorite superheroes and villains were.

Haley and Nathan were exhausted by the end of the night. After getting Logan to bed, with his insistence that Nathan read him a bedtime story, the two were sitting on the couch facing each other just talking. It ranged from their hobbies to their favorite foods and to their personal life.

"So this summer is the first time you've tutored?" asked Nathan.

"Not exactly. I started tutoring at my high school last year. I went through this pretty bad time and I started tutoring as a way to distract myself from that. But then something good came out of it: I liked it. I liked being able to help someone with their problems even if I couldn't fix my own. I guess I wanted to bring that feeling here so I asked my dad and Clay if I could. I don't know, it's silly," she quickly added that last comment to hide her insecurity.

"It's not," Nathan insisted. Haley looked up from her lap and smiled gratefully for his understanding.

"You know, don't you?"

"What? Know what?" he asked genuinely confused.

"About Damien. About him being the cause for my 'bad time'." She had seen the look in Nathan's face and she knew he knew.

Nathan avoided her eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry, it's none of my business anyways."

Haley shrugged. "News was bound to get out, it's just really twisted how. I think I once heard it described as a 'hit and run'. Ugh! How disgusting is that?"

"Very," Nathan agreed as a flashback to Vegas saying the exact words came to mind.

Haley shook her head at the immaturity that exists around her peers. "Anyways, I just wish everyone would move on. I mean I have and I was the one who got their heart broken."

"I'm sorry about that, by the way." Haley gave him a look of confusion. "For what you went through with West. From what I hear he was and is an ass, especially if he treated you really badly."

Haley smiled softly. "Thanks. You know he came by my house the day before school started to apologize. He said something about making a mistake and that he missed me. Some bullshit answer. Anyways, I remember dreaming he would do just that and that I would forgive him and we'd move on happily ever after." Haley scoffed at her words. "But as soon as I saw his smug face I knew I was over him. And a door slammed in his face might've been enough for me, but God did that punch feel good!"

Up until her last sentence Nathan had kept quiet for her to continue, but when he heard her revelation he couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious? _You_ punched him?"

Haley joined his laugh and nodded. "Yeah. Right in the eye. What's funny is that everyone thought it was Jake who did it."

Nathan thought back to Jake laughing at him when he had assumed just that. "And you didn't feel like telling anyone?"

Haley shook her head. "No. It didn't matter to me. It still doesn't. The fact that I did it is enough, I don't care what everyone else thinks. Besides, Damien let it on that it was Jake who did it. He didn't want anyone knowing about my right hook," she winked.

Nathan laughed.

Their conversation naturally progressed from Haley's past to her family and passion of academics. She spoke about her many siblings, all spread out around the country except for Quinn of course.

"Sorry about that," Haley apologized after a couple of minutes. "I must be boring you to death with my life story."

"No, you're not," Nathan assured her. "I like hearing about your big family and that stuff you went through. Plus I like hearing you talk."

Haley lightly blushed. "Well what about you?"

"What about me?" he asked stalling the question he was anticipating.

She nudged him. "What were you like?"

"Honestly?" She nodded. "I was pretty much a jerk, kind of like West," he admitted.

"I doubt you were that bad," she said with a hint of smile, thinking he was exaggerating.

"Trust me, I was," he admitted softly.

Her sly smile faded. "You said 'was'. What changed?"

"Well, me, for one. But I guess it has to do with my parents. My dad wasn't—isn't the best guy. Really controlling and manipulative. He had me and my mom on puppet strings my whole life. Anyways, earlier this year my mom decided she had enough and wanted to file for divorce. My dad wouldn't let her, I guess he had some sort of hold over her. She started medicating to avoid the problem and I just couldn't stand being there anymore. Long story short I moved out and stayed with my half-brother. Big shocker is we share the same dad."

"That's nice of your brother to take you in. How old is he?"

"He's 7 months older than me." Haley gasped in shock. "I know, I told you, my dad's an ass." Haley nodded in agreement and the two shared a brief laugh. "But my brother's cool. We didn't always get along, but now we're closer than ever. He's the one who convinced me to move out and with his help by the end of May I was officially emancipated from my parents."

"Wow, how was that? I mean it couldn't have been easy." Haley couldn't imagine living on her own at her age. Especially since she was so used to her family.

"It was tough. It still is I guess. But I don't regret it. Divorcing my parents in a way was the best decision I've made thus far. After joining High Flyers and signing up for tutoring that is," he added smirking in her direction.

Haley blushed and smiled shyly at his comment geared towards her. She placed a piece of hair behind her ear and softly told him, "You know you never really answered my first question."

"Huh?"

"What were you like?" She heard him exhale. "I know you said you were like Damien but honestly Nathan, I can't picture you being that hurtful and vindictive."

Nathan contemplated her words. "I wasn't that kind of bad I guess. I mean I was pretty conceited, definitely cocky but I've grown out of that. Lucas, my brother, helped with that. And as for girls... Let's just say I've never really been in a healthy committed relationship."

"If it makes you feel any better neither have I," she quipped.

The pair shared a sad smile. "Yeah well I didn't try to take advantage of their feelings either. I made sure from the start that whatever we were doing wasn't gonna lead anywhere and that whenever either of us wanted to bail we could."

"So a mutual understanding?" Haley asked.

"Exactly. At least that's what I thought. Some held grudges or worse, they thought they could 'change' me." He rolled his eyes at that last part.

"But you did change," Haley pointed out.

"Yeah, but not for them. It was for me, for..." he stopped himself.

"For what?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"For someone who deserves better."

Haley was a little taken back. Not just because of his words but the intensity it held with the look he was giving her. Unfortunately their moment would be cut short as her sister and brother-in-law walked through the door, causing the teens to stand up and place distance from each other.

"Scott. What are you doing here?" asked Clay.

"I-uh..." stammered Nathan.

"Clay you know he helped Haley with Logan. How was he?" asked Quinn.

"He was good," Nathan replied. "Really cool kid."

"We know. We raised him," responded Clay with a stern face. He may not have seen what just happened but he's sure he's happy he interrupted it. "It's getting kind of late, you should head out. Don't want you to miss your curfew and all."

Nathan took the hint. "Right." He looked at Haley and asked, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She nodded smiling. "Yeah. And thanks again for helping."

"No problem," he smiled back. He would've wanted to give her a goodbye hug but thought it would be best not to do so under the scrutinizing look Clay was sending the pair.

After avoiding the questions she knew Quinn and Clay were prepared to throw her way and after checking up on her nephew one last time, Haley headed to her bedroom ready for bed. She laid down, lights off and covers on, and faced the ceiling. When she realized she wasn't all that tired, she kicked off the covers and headed towards her desk. She turned on her desk lamp and pulled out her notebook to begin to write, seeing as she can't fall asleep. If she weren't too busy writing, she might have noticed that the smile she had on when saying goodbye to Nathan hasn't left her since.

Upon arriving to his dorm, Nathan came to realize something: he liked Haley. Man, was he screwed.

* * *

"I totally got it in though! I should get a point for that," stated Haley confidently.

The group of friends had shared dinner together and were currently in the lounge playing a game of pool.

"Hales, you got a solid color in the pocket," replied an exasperated Jake.

"Which is why I should get a point!" exclaimed Haley.

"Baby girl, Tony's solid colors, you're stripes," explained Skills.

Haley sighed. "Fine. Your turn Tony."

The group laughed at Haley's actions. As Tony approached the pool table Haley's phone began to ring and she excused herself from the group to answer it.

Nathan watched her walk away. God it's pathetic how much he thinks of her. Even more so is that he shouldn't be. After all, not only is she his tutor but also his Coach's daughter and roommate's best friend. And to add on top of that her track record with dating basketball players isn't the best. Damn West. He didn't even know the guy and he already hates him.

One thing he's sure of though, is that he must talk to Jake. If anything, he has to know whether he's cool with it. God he hopes he is because if not, Nathan has no idea what he'll do.

When Haley came back she explained to the group she had to head back home. After she left the guys played a few more rounds before turning in.

Nathan and Jake walked into their room and Nathan felt he should get out what he wanted to now before anything's happened.

"Hey Jake, mind if we talk?" Nathan asked nervously as he sat down on his bed.

Jake had just changed into some sweats and was preparing to go to bed when Nathan spoke. "What's up?" He noticed his roommate's nervous state.

When he first began to speak Nathan's voice was shaky, but as he went on his confidence kicked in. "Jake, you're one of my closest friends here at High Flyers so I feel the need to tell you-"

Jake interrupted Nathan with his hand. "Look man, I know where you're going with this."

"You do?"

Jake nodded. "You're in love with me." Nathan let out the breath he was holding of anticipation. Jake was messing with him. "And I've got to tell you man, before you go on, I don't go that way."

Nathan threw his pillow at Jake and the two laughed.

"I'm serious, man, I've got to tell you something," said Nathan after their laughing subsided.

"All right, I'm listening."

Nathan exhaled. There would never be a right time to say what he was about to. "I like Haley."

Nathan had kept his eyes on Jake's as he revealed his feelings. He saw the look of intrigue change to shock, to disdain and finally to anger. "What?"

"It just happened, okay. And I know you're really protective of Haley because of what happened last summer, but I'm telling you man. My feelings for her, they're real," Nathan admitted.

Jake gulped. "Does she know?"

Nathan shook his head. "No, I wanted to tell you before-"

"Good," Jake intercepted. "And she won't know."

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"Look I know you've heard about the West debacle but you don't know half the truth."

"Actually I know more than you think," interrupted Nathan. "Haley filled me in. And I know West deserved more than just that black eye _she_ gave him, despite what she says."

"Well do you know that West wasn't the first one?"

Nathan stayed quiet. He didn't know. "Yeah, that's right. When Haley," he paused to look for the right words, "developed and grew up, the players at this camp began to look at her as some sort of conquest. She was the only girl allowed on campground and she knew when guys would talk to her it was because they wanted her to keep their pants warm for the summer. And because she knew, she didn't give them the time of day. West went to the same high school as us and he and I were on the same team. She knew who he was so when he approached her, she let her guard down. He eventually got her to fall for his act and the two hit it off. But as soon as High Flyers ended, when Haley thought they would walk hand in hand on the first day of school, he broke her heart. Not to mention all the pressure he put on her for putting out." Nathan sent a look to Jake and he knew immediately what he was asking. "Whether she did or not is none of my business and it sure as hell isn't yours. She never told me and I never asked."

"I'm not like him, Jake," Nathan responded confidently. "I don't want to hurt Haley. I won't hurt her," he promised.

Jake calmed down, but held the stern tone in his voice. "You can't go there Scott. If you really care about Haley like you say you do, then you'll just leave her alone. Put some distance between you two and get over her. It's what's best for both of you. She doesn't need another summer fling with a basketball player ending in heartbreak." And with that Jake left the room leaving Nathan alone to think.

* * *

Nathan took what Jake to heart. It took all he had in him to do his absolute best to avoid Haley only seeing her during their tutoring sessions. At first it was a little awkward pulling a complete 180 on her from being close friends to almost nothing.

"God I must've looked ridiculous hiding behind my pillow. I mean it didn't even faze Logan. Anyways, I don't care what my sister and Jake say, clowns are clearly freaky." Haley shuddered at the thought. She and Nathan were at the picnic table and she had just finished telling him a story about her irrational fear of clowns, as he once put it. Only issue was, he wasn't really listening to her. "Are you okay Nathan?"

He nodded then quickly added, "Yeah, I just think we should focus on the lesson."

Haley raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you care more about the lesson?"

"I've always cared about the lesson, Haley. That's why I voluntarily signed up," he pointed out, rather rudely in her opinion.

"Okay, well are we still on for lunch later?" The week before when he had come over to help her babysit Logan she mentioned that she made the best mac and cheese and that he should come by and taste it sometime. They set up a date for that day.

Nathan had of course forgotten about this and replied, "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea. Sorry."

Haley looked at him confused. "What? Why not?"

Nathan sighed. This wouldn't be easy. "I'm just not feeling well. Actually, do you mind if we just cut this short?"

Haley nodded not sure how else to respond. "Sure."

"Thanks," Nathan stated as he began to pack up his stuff and left Haley alone.

Haley watched as he walked away and she felt completely lost. What happened? She thought they were becoming friends and all of a sudden he was blowing her off. She decided to pay Jake a visit to see if he knew.

Jake was getting ready to head out to practice when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door he had one untied shoe on his foot and the other in his hand. "Oh, hey Hales. What are you doing here so early? I thought you were tutoring Nathan."

"So did I but he kind of bailed," she said walking into the room.

Jake had sat back down at this point and looked up from tying his shoes. "He bailed?" he asked incredulously. Haley nodded. "That's weird, I could've sworn I saw him leave early for your session today."

"Well, he did show up," she admitted, "but he didn't stay long."

"Well he isn't here. Sorry."

Haley smiled softly. She was sort of upset that Nathan wasn't in the room but at the same time grateful so she could speak to Jake alone. "Do you know if he's okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Has he said anything? I mean, he kind of blew me off for lunch too. I'm just wondering if everything's okay."

Jake nodded understanding now that Nathan had took his advice about giving Haley space. Good, he thought. "Nope. Look Hales, it's not a big deal, okay. The guy's probably just tired from practice."

Haley nodded. "Yeah, you're probably just right."

"It's about time I am. At least around you."

Haley laughed at her friends quip, but her whole heart wasn't in it.

"I'll come by if you want. I've been meaning to spend more time with Jenny and you," Jake offered.

"Okay, sounds good. See you then."

"Alright, see you later, Hales. Lock up when you leave?" he asked as he headed to the door.

Haley nodded. "Mmhm."

As Haley stood in the room she couldn't help but feel she missed something when it came to Nathan. Why was he acting so distant?

* * *

 **VI.**

* * *

Thanks for reading! As you can see, their relationship is slowly progressing past friends.

Keep reviewing, favorite&following and I'll keep writing and posting :)

\- R. xx


	7. Chapter 7

Haley, who was sitting at one of the benches inside the gym, was in the middle of writing when her notebook was suddenly snatched from her hands. She looked up ready to do bodily harm to whomever interrupted her. When she saw it was Jake, she still felt the same.

"Give it back," she stood up, one hand on her hip and the other held out for the notebook.

"Or what?" Jake asked, teasing. He loved to get her all mad, it was very entertaining for him to watch.

Haley narrowed her eyes. Her writing was like Jake's headphones. It was her escape. "Or I'll tell every one of these players about that time in seventh grade. It involved you, whip cream, and a bad sense of judgement."

Jake gulped. "You wouldn't."

Haley raised an eyebrow, daring him to call her bluff. Jake looked her straight in the eye to see if she was serious. She was.

Jake relented. "Fine, here." He shoved the book into her chest.

Haley smiled smugly and flipped to the page she had left on after sitting back down. "I can't believe you lost my place. I should give you a black eye."

"Go ahead. Nothing you haven't done before." Haley turned to see Jake's face and saw him smirking. She couldn't help but chuckle. She continued to flip through the pages. Jake spoke as she searched.

Haley nodded indifferently as he continued to speak. She had found her place in her notebook and just wanted to continue writing. "Yeah, sure."

Jake gave her a look of disbelief. "Glad to know you find a piece of tree more interesting than your best friend," Jake scoffed as he stood up.

Haley cursed under her breath. "No, Jake. Sorry. Sit down," she told him. When he didn't move, she added, "Please."

He sat back down, facing the court rather than her.

"Look, I'm sorry. But I was in the middle of writing and-"

Jake spun his head fast. "You're writing again?"

Haley nodded, "Yeah."

"Are they compositions?" Growing up together they both formed a love for music. They learned guitar together and eventually grew into writing their own stuff. Haley was always more passionate about the composing and singing while he was just content on playing. He knows how personal her compositions are, so if she's writing music again, there had to be a force driving her to do so.

"I mean, not at first. But they've sort of grown into that," she admitted. Her initial intentions for her pieces weren't music related, in fact they were mostly lines that came to mind that slowly formed into lyrics. She was only recently creating melodies for them.

"Since when?"

"About two weeks now," she replied nervously.

"Weeks?!"

"Yeah," she nodded meekly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Haley sighed and shrugged. "Because... I don't know," she answered honestly. "I just didn't really feel the need to bring it up I guess. Plus it's not like it's a big deal."

Jake gave her an incredulous look. "Not a big deal? Hales, you haven't been inspired to write music since Jenny's birth. And I know you only write when you're inspired." He caught Haley's small smile and how she did her best to hide it. That's when it clicked. Her hanging out more with him and his friends, stopping by his room more often. Her asking about _him_. "Please don't tell me this has to do with Nathan?" he asked bluntly.

"What?" she asked surprised.

"Nathan, my roommate," he clarified. He exhaled before asking, "Do you like him or something?"

Haley scoffed in response but nevertheless avoided her best friend's eye contact, indirectly answering his question.

Jake shook his head in disbelief. "Holy shit. How did I not see this coming?" he asked himself quietly.

"Jake-" she began.

"Don't deny it, Hales. I can see it on your face."

She began to sigh. Something about this current conversation felt familiar.

 _"Damien West?! Are you serious?"_

 _"I like him, Jake," she defended herself._

 _"How?" he asked. He was completely stumped on how his best friend, the kindest and most down to earth person he's ever known, could be interested in an arrogant ass like West._

 _"I don't know," she shrugged. "It just happened." Jake scoffed at her response. Haley took a step closer. "Well you know how he's kind of been hitting on me?" Jake nodded, unhappy about that fact. He figured West began to flirt with her to get him mad. "I ignored him at first because well, he was a jerk, but he's actually a really nice guy when it's just us," she explained._

 _Jake looked at her blankly. "A guy shouldn't just be nice to you when you're alone, Hales. If anything that proves he's not worth your time and especially your heart."_

 _Haley grew upset. "Just because you guys have some sort of beef, doesn't give you the right to tell me how I should feel about him."_

 _"Haley! It isn't just some 'beef'. I mean sure we get into arguments and fights, but I don't like him because he acts like he's the second coming. He's selfish, entitled, and an ass!"_

 _Haley heard the rage in Jake's voice. And in an attempt to calm him, she chose to keep her voice soft. "Look, I get it. You don't like him." She heard him whisper something along the lines of 'that's an understatement.' "BUT, I'd appreciate it if you could at least support me. Just how I'm supporting you with Nicki."_

 _Out of frustration he combed his hair with his hands. He figured she'd pull that. Nicki wasn't the nicest person to Haley before their relationship. Even now, after almost a year together and having a child on the way, Nicki and Haley would only speak when exchanging flat greetings._

 _"She never hazed you or gave you a bloody nose," he countered illustrating two of Damien's faults._

 _Haley rolled her eyes. "Yeah because spreading the rumor that I'll give blow jobs for cash is any better." Shit, Jake thought, he forgot about that. "I couldn't walk down the hallway without some guy whistling or propositioning me for weeks. And I was only 14 at the time!"_

 _Jake, though rather lamely, reminded her, "She apologized for that."_

 _"Yeah, after she found out I was your best friend." Haley exhaled and let a moment pass before continuing. "And even after all that I still supported you two. I still do, even with this baby coming. And now I need your support. Please, Jake," she pleaded quietly._

 _He let out a frustrated breath. "Fine," he gritted through his teeth. "But if he hurts you, I'm not holding back, Hales."_

 _Haley let out a chuckle in relief and at her protective best friend as she hugged him. "Thanks Jake."_

 _He kissed the top of her hair, praying this wouldn't end badly but knowing it probably will._

She hung her head down. Ashamed that she did what she promised herself she'd never do: fall for another sweet talking player. Except Nathan wasn't just a sweet talker, he was genuine and funny and kind. And she fell hard. She looked up at her best friend. "I'm sorry."

"Haley." Jake's heart nearly broke at seeing her conflicted state. "Why do you like him?" he asked softly.

She lifted her head to see his face expression. It wasn't the same angry or confused look he'd had on that day she told him she had feelings for Damien. It was more of a concerned and sincere look. "Um, lots of reasons," she paused to shrug. "He's really sweet and kind. He's respectful and funny-"

"Funny?" Jake cut in. He never found him to be that funny. "Really?" he asked unbelieving.

She nodded, giggling back at that time she and Nathan were with Logan. "Yeah, I mean, he can be." She noticed Jake was staring. "What?"

"You really like him."

"Yeah. He's not like Damien, Jake," she promised.

He remembered Nathan saying the exact same thing. He wasn't sure then, but now he knew. "I know," he said softly.

"But it's not like you should worry," Haley spoke up.

"What do you mean?" he asked curious.

Haley scoffed as if it were obvious. "Nathan doesn't like me like that. To him I'm just his tutor or his roommate's best friend."

"Haley-"

"It's the truth."

Jake saw the sadness in Haley's eyes. He didn't know why, but he felt it was necessary for him to tell her. "No, it's not." She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, silently asking him to continue. Jake sighed. "I can't believe I'm telling you this."

"What?"

"Nathan's kind of been crushing on you for a while."

Haley opened her mouth, but no words came out, she was in shock. "H-how would you know that?"

"He might have told me," Jake sheepishly admitted.

"What!" Haley narrowed her eyes. "When?"

"About a week ago."

Haley was baffled now. "If he likes me then why hasn't he said anything?"

Jake sighed. "Cause I might have warned him not to." Jake closed his eyes in anticipation for her reaction.

"Why?" she gritted.

"Hales, you went through so much heartache because of West. I just didn't want to see you get hurt again."

"Well don't you think that should've been my decision?"

"On getting hurt?" Jake asked confused.

She rolled her eyes at his cluelessness. "No, you idiot. On wanting to be with Nathan."

"Hales, I had absolutely no idea you were even interested in him. At least until now. How the hell should I have known? I just did what I thought was best. For the both of you."

"So did you tell him to stay away from me too?" she asked accusingly.

"What?"

"He's been acting weird lately and it makes sense now. But the real kicker is that he started avoiding me."

Jake quickly responded in an attempt to save himself. "No, I didn't say that. I just told him that if he wanted to keep being your friend that he'd need to put some distance between you two."

"And naturally that means seeing me as little as possible."

Jake frowned. "I'm sorry Hales."

She sighed. Haley knew she couldn't stay mad at Jake for long. After all, he had a point: he didn't know about her feelings for Nathan.

Changing her tone, Haley asked, "Do you think I should talk to him? Tell him how I feel?"

"Uh, wouldn't this be something you go ask a girlfriend?" Jake suddenly felt uncomfortable at the change of direction their conversation was going.

"I don't have any. Especially here." She then followed by punching his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Jake asked as he rubbed the potential bruise.

"That one was for telling Nathan to back off." She punched him again. "And that is for reminding me my only friend is a clueless boy."

"Well if you wanted a girl's opinion why don't you just ask Quinn?" He continued to sooth his arm. He had forgotten how hard she punches.

"Because I want my best friend's opinion."

Jake sighed. "You really like him?"

She nodded.

He let out an exasperated breath. "Fine then. I'd say you go talk to him. Tell him about your feelings and I'm sure he'll reciprocate."

"You think?" she asked unsure.

"I don't see why not. He cares about you. I know he does."

She smiled and leaned in for a tender hug. "Thank you, Jake."

"No problem."

"Is he in the room?" she asked after pulling away.

"Probably. Either that or on his way here for practice."

She nodded. "So do you think I should talk to him after?"

Jake shrugged.

"What does that," she mimicked his action, "mean?"

"It means beats me. I know I'm smart Hales but I can't give you all the answers." Haley rolled her eyes at the sly compliment towards himself. "Look, people are coming in. I should go warm up. But if you see him, just go for it, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

She watched as Jake approached some of the players who came in. She waited impatiently until Nathan showed up. She was nervous to say the least. She had very little experience in the dating world. With Damien it was much easier seeing as how he pursued her. But Nathan was much more subtle than that. He clearly didn't want to force or push her. He wasn't aggressive, which she couldn't help but appreciate.

She finally saw him walk in. He was one of the last players to do so. She decided to stick by her words and go for it. She stood up and walked towards the basketball rack where he was standing by.

"Hey, Nathan," she smiled, nervously.

He looked up. She noticed how his body stiffened at her voice and when he turned in her direction how his eyes were lit up. "Hey," he replied with a small smile which instantly relaxed Haley and broadened her smile.

"Can we talk?" This was it. She was going for it.

Nathan was torn. He really wanted to. After all it's been days since he and Haley have had a full on conversation. But whose fault was that? His, obviously. If he had just kept his mouth shut and his heart closed, this wouldn't be an issue. "Uh-" luckily he didn't have to finish answering. Coach James and Evans appeared followed by a blow of the whistle. Nathan subtly sighed of relief. "Sorry, can't. Later?"

Haley nodded. She did her best to hide her disappointment. "Sure." She waved at him as he walked away. In the process she had caught Jake's eye and he sent her a concerned look. She shook her head to dismiss his worrying thoughts. She saw him mouth the words 'tell him.'

She stood frozen for a split second before moving into action. Next thing she knew she was in front of her father as Clay spoke to the players about a new drill.

Jimmy turned his head to find his daughter approaching him. He swiftly left Clay's side and turned to her. "Everything okay, sweetheart?" he whispered.

She nodded. "Yeah, I just, um, need to talk to Nathan about something."

Jimmy looked at his daughter curiously. "Can't this wait?"

She shook her head. "It can't."

Jimmy looked at his daughter and could tell something was off. Still, he trusted her. "Okay, hold on." Jimmy then apologized to Clay after interrupting him. "Sorry fellas. Scott, my daughter needs to speak to you about something." Nathan stood confused as the other players looked at him. "Well? Move it along Scott."

"Sorry, Coach," Nathan apologized. He followed Haley towards the far right side of bleachers. "What's up?" he asked her.

"Well, um," she looked behind her and saw that some of the players were watching and decided this was too big of an audience. "Why don't we go into the office?"

Once inside, Haley closed the door.

"Is this about tutoring?" he asked still confused about the sudden disruption.

"I like you!" she suddenly blurted out.

Nathan stood in shock. "What?"

"I like you," she said in a quieter tone. When she realized he wasn't going to speak anytime sooner she continued. "I have for a while now. And I know it seems like it came out of nowhere but I told Jake today and he mentioned that you might feel the same." A few seconds of silence followed and Haley felt like she may have made a huge mistake. Damnit Jake, she thought. She chuckled humorlessly. "But you obviously don't. So I'm just going to go before I make a bigger fool out of myself." She started to turn around when she felt him stop her.

He had grabbed her arm to turn her and immediately after he bent down to kiss her. It was a quick kiss, but it was his way of reciprocating his feelings.

"Why did you do that?" she asked breathlessly after they pulled away.

"I wanted to. I like you too, Haley," he revealed.

"Yeah?" she asked quietly. And with the confirmation of his nod, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a longer kiss.

* * *

 **VII.**

* * *

Hope that was a good chapter for all you Naley fans.

Thanks for reading &pretty,pretty please continue reviewing and fave&follow if you haven't already.

And I'll continue to write & update. :)

\- R. xx


	8. Chapter 8

Haley woke up with a smile on her face. She had practically dreamt about the night before, when she and Nathan shared their first kiss:

 _After a couple of seconds, the two separated to regain their breath._

 _Haley heard him talk but it was incoherent as she was still dazed from their previous activity._

 _"Huh?" she asked._

 _Nathan chuckled and she saw a smirk slowly appear on his face. She could tell he knew he was a good kisser. "I said, 'How long?'"_

 _"How long what?" she asked, still confused._

 _"How long have you liked me?"_

 _"Oh, um," she shyly put a hair strand behind her ear. Her waist was still wrapped in his arms and unlike previously when she felt there would always be too much space between them, she now felt herself melting in his arms. "I don't know. I guess from the start but I didn't really realize it until a couple of days ago. Mostly when you stopped making an effort at being my friend."_

 _He nodded regretfully. "Yeah, sorry about that. It's just, I know you don't have the best record with basketball players or really guys in general and Jake reminded me of that. I just didn't want to force you into something you might regret. Especially since we'll be leaving in like two weeks."_

 _"Right. High Flyer's almost over and then school starts," she stated solemnly._

 _He nodded sadly._

 _"So is this... Am I some sort of summer fling?" she asked, unsure if she wanted to hear his answer._

 _Nathan shook his head profusely. "No, of course not," he answered adamantly. "The reason I didn't say anything all month long is because I didn't want it to just end once we go home. I care about you, Hales."_

 _She saw the sincerity in his mesmerizing blue eyes and smiled. She was glad to know he cared about her more than just a tutor, or a friend, but most importantly: more than just a body that could be easily replaced seasonally. "I care about you too Nathan."_

 _"Good."_

 _She giggled at his statement and she was delightedly surprised to feel his lips on hers shortly after._

Haley sighed in contentment. She and Nathan were together. Whether they were officially exclusive was not clear. But she knows they have time. She doesn't want to rush into anything too soon anyways. As long as Nathan saw them together beyond summer and beyond a physical relationship, she was happy.

She got out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen where she saw her family spread around the table. Her father was sitting with a cup of coffee in his hand and that morning's newspaper in the other. Her sister Quinn was helping Logan cut his waffles and failing miserably as Clay watched on in amusement. Haley's mother was placing a small assortment of food at the center of the table.

"There you are Haley Bob. I was wondering where you were. It's not like you to sleep in," her mother Lydia said upon seeing Haley.

Haley smiled. "Yeah, sorry." She took her seat across from her mom and sister and began to serve herself some eggs from the skillet.

"That's some smile you're sporting. Did ya have a good dream?" asked Lydia.

"Something like that," Haley softly replied.

Quinn stared at her suspiciously. This wasn't normal. Haley's usually the first to wake up and she hasn't seen her smile this big since—ever.

"Oh my God! You had your first," she paused when she realized she had innocent ears within distance and chose to spell the inappropriate word, "s-e-x dream about someone didn't you?" she asked excitedly.

"Quinn!" Haley yelled embarrassed.

"Sweetheart," Jimmy said uncomfortably.

"Seriously?" Clay asked after dramatically putting down his fork after he suddenly lost his appetite.

"I hate it when you spell," said Logan softly as he chewed a piece of waffle sadly.

All the table guests, minus Lydia, looked at Quinn as if she were insane.

"Oh my! That would explain her glowing smile," Lydia added onto Quinn's theory.

"Right?!" Quinn nodded with her mother in agreement. "It makes total sense."

"Hello! I'm right here, don't talk about me as if I'm not in the same room."

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Lydia apologized. She leaned forward and said, "Now tell me, who was it, what happened, and where did it happen?"

Quinn nodded in agreement with a huge smile on her face.

Haley rolled her eyes at her mother and sister's persistence.

"Okay, I'm officially done with you two. I'm going and taking Logan with me." Clay stood from his seat and took his plates to the sink before reaching for his son and leaving the room while muttering something like, "I do not want to have to pay for my son's therapy sessions after being scarred."

"Dad," Haley said in a forceful tone. She gave him a look of "do something please!"

Jimmy sighed. "Lydia, don't force her to share anything she isn't comfortable with. Besides, this is getting too weird for my own comfort. So if you need to talk, I'm leaving now." He stood up and took one look at his youngest daughter's face which was a plea for help. "Sorry sweetheart, you're on your own."

Haley shook her head and huffed as she crossed her arms and slumped into her chair. This was going to be a long morning. She just wondered if Nathan was going to get as grilled as she was.

Unbeknownst to Haley, Nathan was already "spoken" to the night before.

 _They were playing video games when Jake decided to bring up the elephant in the room._

 _"So you and Haley?"_

 _Nathan's eyes were focused on the TV but he heard his roommate. "Yup."_

 _"I don't need to tell you what'll happen if you hurt her, right?"_

 _"Nope."_

 _"Good."_

 _Tony and Skills, who were behind them, looked at each other confused. Since when were Nathan and Haley a thing? They silently asked each other that question then shortly followed with a shrug before watching the two roommates play a fierce game of NBA Live._

* * *

Haley walked to the picnic table she and Nathan always hold their tutoring sessions at. She was emotionally exhausted, and not to mention frustrated, from all the talking she had with her mother and sister. She had told them that she did not in fact have her first sex dream, much to their dismay, but rather had shared a kiss with Nathan, which had obviously received ear-piercing reactions. They asked for all the details on how their tutor-student relationship became a friendship to what they were now. She had never talked so much in her life, even during her tutoring sessions.

After revealing that secret and finishing breakfast she told them she had to get ready so she could tutor Nathan and that alone brought out even more excitement. They insisted on helping her get ready and Haley had to forcibly tell them no by threatening bodily harm if they come near her. She eventually appeased them by agreeing to do her own makeup and hair—something she rarely does.

She felt a little nervous about this session, but excited nonetheless. After all, it was their first meeting after kissing and sharing their feelings with one another.

She stared out into the small pond with her music softly playing in her earphones. She hadn't even noticed the incoming intruder until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Haley jumped, startled after feeling a foreign touch. After seeing the face the touch belonged to she couldn't help but smile. She took out her earphones. "Hi."

He smiled and sat down, keeping his eyes fixated on her the entire time. "Hi." God, how he wanted to kiss her, feel her lips on his again. But he had to restrain himself, especially out here in public. They hadn't necessarily spoken about going public to the whole camp, but he figured she didn't want any dirty rumors about herself to spread. Especially after everyone knew she had dated the previous summer's best player. Not to mention, neither her father nor Clay would be too pleased to hear about their darling Haley falling for another basketball player. Yeah, they would stay low for now. At least until things got serious between the two. And for the first time, commitment to Nathan didn't seem so scary. On the contrary, it seemed invigorating, exciting.

* * *

They spent the following couple of days sneaking around, meeting up and making out in secret. It was bliss for the couple. And now that their friendship had expanded to the romantic level their tutoring sessions weren't always centered on school. In fact, they've had to move their sessions indoors due to their inability to keep their hands to themselves.

For instance, today happened to be one of those times. They were in Haley's bedroom with the house to themselves because Quinn and Lydia stepped out to visit the Farmer's market with Logan and Jenny while Clay and Jimmy were busy in their office. They had spent a total of ten minutes studying before they drifted from the desk to the bed where they were currently kissing. In fact, they were so lost with each other they didn't hear the front door opening, or the footsteps on the stairs, and definitely not her bedroom door opening. The loud cough, however, was heard.

Haley quickly pushed Nathan away, apparently hard enough for him to fall on the floor and land with a huge thump.

"Mom! Quinn!" Haley did her best to smooth out her shirt as Nathan got up from the floor. "I didn't hear you guys knock," she smiled embarrassed.

"Clearly," Quinn smirked while eyeing her sister and Nathan's disheveled clothing.

Lydia has always prided herself in being an understanding and loving mother but her experience has also taught her how to embarrass the hell out of her kids in the process. "I see now why tutoring was so important to you Haley-Bob," she commented while stifling a laugh.

Haley rolled her eyes at how her mom and sister were acting. Like catching her and Nathan making out wasn't bad enough, they had to comment too. She can only imagine what was going through Nathan's head so she turned back and sent him an apologetic smile but was happily surprised to see he had an amused look.

"We were studying," Haley lamely defended herself.

Lydia nodded. "Well you two obviously deserve a break. After all _studying_ can work up quite the appetite. We're going to get dinner started so it should be ready in an hour. You're welcome to stay Nathan."

Nathan gulped. He wasn't expecting this type of hospitality after being caught almost going to second base with her daughter. "Um," he stalled.

"There's no argument Nathan, you're staying. And when we call you two down we'll knock this time," and with that Lydia left the room.

"And Haley, if me or Taylor have taught you anything, it's that you should always lock the door," Quinn winked and closed the door shut after she left the room.

Nathan exhaled. "Well that was-"

"Mortifying, I know. Sorry about them. I told you my family is not the most conventional," Haley apologized.

Nathan stepped closer to her and placed his hands on her arms to soothe her. "Haley, don't worry about it. They were pretty funny and honestly better they catch us than your dad or Clay right?"

He had a point. "I guess you're right. God, could you imagine what would've happened if it _was_ my dad or Clay?" Haley shook her head in amusement and playfully slapped Nathan on the chest. "Dude, we totally dodged a bullet. Well, you did."

"Hey! Don't call me dude. What am I? Just a skillful mouth?"

Haley rolled her eyes playfully. "Sorry Hot Shot, I need to use pet names, that way I don't get all my boy toys confused," she joked.

"That's not funny," Nathan pointed to her as she walked to her desk. "And what did you mean by we dodged a bullet? I mean, what would've happened if it was them who caught us?" he asked curious.

"Nothing good for you," Haley answered seriously.

"Huh." Nathan voiced, slightly scared at the thought of what 'nothing good' consisted of.

* * *

"Daddy!" Logan exclaimed at the sight of Clay entering the house.

"Hey buddy," Clay said as he picked up his son. He kissed him on the forehead and began walking with his son in his arms. "How was your day?"

"Good," Logan answered.

"Yeah? What did you do today?"

"Mostly played." Clay laughed at his son's serious response. "Oh, and guess what Daddy."

"What?"

"Nathan's gonna eat dinner with us!"

Clay stopped walking and furrowed his brows as he asked his son, "Nathan?"

"Yeah, Bobby's friend. He's super cool and super tall."

Clay cleared his throat and placed his son down. "Why don't you go get ready for dinner while I find your mom?"

"Okay," said Logan as he sped off to the bathroom.

Clay found Quinn in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of wine. Quinn looked up from her glass to see her husband upset. She figured he knew about their dinner guest so she uncorked the bottle and poured herself some more wine.

"Quinn, what the hell?" he gritted as he stepped closer to her.

"What? No 'I love you' or 'I missed you today'?" she asked with her head cocked to the side.

Clay exhaled exasperated. "Nathan's eating dinner with us?"

Quinn took a big gulp. "Mom insisted he stay after we caught him with Haley upstairs in her room," Quinn revealed.

"What! They were here alone? In her bedroom?"

"Babe, relax. They were just kissing. Besides my dad's caught us doing much worse wearing much less." And with that memory resurfacing Quinn took another big gulp of her wine.

"That's not the point. And why aren't you freaking out about this? You should be pissed she fell for another one of these players."

"Clay, it was inevitable for her to move on with someone else. Just be glad it's not that Matt guy you said who tried to sign up for tutoring. And you said so yourself: Nathan is one of your best players because he's got a good attitude."

Clay cursed himself for sharing so many details with his wife. "He's not good enough for Haley."

"You won't ever think anyone is. And if my dad had that attitude about you, we wouldn't be us." Quinn paused to let her words sink into Clay. She approached him so they were standing in front of each other. "I get that you're feeling overprotective about my sister because she's practically your little sister too, but she's growing up. She's a smart girl, babe. And she rarely makes the same mistakes twice. Think about that." She kissed him on the cheek and headed out of the kitchen.

Damn, Clay thought, she was right.

* * *

The extended James family had dinner and besides the initial tension between Nathan and Haley's father and brother-in-law, it went surprisingly well. They shared anecdotes throughout the meal, mostly ones that embarrassed Haley to which led to her blushed state.

Haley reached for Nathan's hand under the table and the two shared a coy smile instantly sharing their thoughts about dinner going well. That is until it ended. Quinn had gone to send Logan to bed and Lydia was putting the dishes away with help from Haley, which left Nathan alone with Jimmy and Clay.

"So, Nathan, you're from Tree Hill right?" Jimmy asked.

Nathan nodded. "Yes sir."

"Enough with the sir crap Nate. I told you, it's Jimmy off the court." Though Nathan knew he was being genuine, it still felt odd to call him that. "Anyways, I don't know if Haley told you but we're from Jacksonville. Not too far off but it leaves quite some distance between the two of you."

"Uh yeah. About an hour commute," Nathan estimated. He had thought about this before.

"And camp ends this week with school starting in three."

Nathan immediately caught on to what he was trying to say. "That sounds about right."

"Do you know what I'm getting at Nathan?" Jimmy asked.

"I think so."

"Well I'm still going to ask just so we're clear. I pride myself in being a pretty open father. I support my kids in whatever decisions they make. But when I see one of them, especially my youngest, brokenhearted I feel like I should intervene. So I need to know what your intentions are with my daughter, Nate."

"Dad!" Haley had walked back into the dining room to find her father basically interrogating Nathan. "Nathan you don't have to ans-"

"No it's okay Haley," he intercepted. He looked away from her and gained eye contact with Jimmy. "I have genuine feelings for Haley. They're real and they're sincere. And I see myself with her beyond summer, for as long as she'll want or have me."

Jimmy and Clay shared a poker face but soon broke out in grins. They were impressed. "Well then my job is done," Jimmy clapped his knees and pushed himself out of his chair to approach Nathan. He reached to shake his hand and when Nathan took it Jimmy quipped, "She's your problem now."

Haley rolled her eyes at her father's joke. God, was he ever serious off the basketball court?

Clay followed up by saying, "You hurt her and you'll end up with a black eye. Haley's not the only one with a mean fist."

Nathan laughed nervously. Though it was said in a playful manner, Nathan heard the real threat under it and he took it seriously "I'll keep that in mind."

"All right, well you should head back soon so you don't miss your curfew. Goodnight guys. And Hales, make sure you walk your date to the door. We wouldn't want him to feel used and neglected."

"Why do I feel like I should apologize for my family again?" Haley asked as they stood on the porch.

Nathan laughed but became serious when he said, "They're really great, Hales. I can tell how much they love and care for you."

"I know," Haley smiled. She really was grateful for her family, they were her whole world. "Did you mean what you said in there?"

Nathan feigned confusion. "You mean about me liking Food Network because oh yeah. I didn't just say that to bond with your mom."

Haley smiled. "No, about us. About you seeing yourself with me beyond summer."

"Oh, that." He looked down shyly.

"Yeah, that," she commented suddenly feeling overexposed.

He looked up from the ground and made eye contact with Haley. "I told you before Hales, the end of camp won't be an expiration date for us. And as much as I meant it then, I mean it even more now," Nathan promised.

Instead of answering with her words Haley reached for his neck and pulled him down for a searing kiss.

* * *

 **VIII.**

* * *

Hope that was a worthy chapter for the somewhat late update. As you can see summer is ending which means we'll be seeing the Tree Hill gang _very_ soon ;)

Thanks for reading everyone, and don't forget to leave a review letting me know what you thought. All feedback and comments are welcome.

And don't forget to favorite&follow if you haven't already (:

\- R. xx


	9. Chapter 9

It's been about three weeks since High Flyers has ended and since Nathan and Haley said their tearful goodbyes.

 _"I can't believe we finally know where we stand and now we have to leave each other," Haley laughed humorlessly. They had decided they would make their relationship work outside of camp and agreed to do so exclusively, but the distance between them still bears a challenge._

 _"Yeah, I know. It sucks, but hey, we're not that far from each other. And we'll still talk and visit whenever either one of us can. We'll make this work, Hales. I promise you," Nathan swore._

 _Haley nodded with tears in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. The two embraced each other until they heard a honk._

 _"That's my ride," Nathan said pulling away._

 _"Yeah." Haley wrapped her arms around herself in absence of Nathan's embrace._

 _"I'll call you when I get home," he swore._

 _"Okay."_

 _Nathan began walking to the car when he heard his name being called. He turned around and it was Haley running to him. "Hal-" before he could finish saying her name her lips were on his and the two kissed passionately not caring who was staring or whistling at them._

 _When Haley finally pulled away she shrugged and said, "One for the road."_

They kept their promise to stay in touch but it didn't stop them from missing each other. Unfortunately, Nathan could only manage to make one trip to Jacksonville to see her their first week apart. The trip was spent at Haley's house where they spent the majority of their time indoors "watching" movies. The day ended at the with Jake visiting the couple and playing some one on one with Nathan on Haley's home basketball court while Haley hung back with Jenny.

During this visit he and Jake managed to talk a little bit in private.

 _"So, how are things back in Tree Hill?" Jake asked before taking a large gulp from his water bottle. After a few rounds the two decided to take a break when Haley entered the house to put Jenny down for a nap._

 _Nathan shrugged after taking his own swig of water. "It's alright. Same old, same old."_

 _Jake nodded. "Listen man, I never got a chance to say this to you before but I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Nathan scrunched his face in confusion. "I'm sorry for keeping you away from Haley. I know now that your feelings are real." Nathan nodded in gratitude. "Actually anyone can tell," Jake added._

 _"How's that?" asked Nathan._

 _Jake chuckled. "You reek of desperation for Hales. All those texts and calls. And right now it's obvious you don't want to leave her."_

 _"You saying I'm whipped?" Nathan questioned with a raised eyebrow._

 _Jake shrugged and laughed. "Hey, if the shoe fits."_

 _Nathan elbowed Jake playfully and laughed along with him. Normally he'd be pretty pissed at that assumption, but honestly, Jake wasn't lying and he wasn't saying that to piss him off. Jake was just stating his observations. And that's when Nathan realized, he was falling for Haley._

But Nathan wasn't the only one saddened by the distance, Haley was clearly upset too. When the first day of school came by, one of her favorite days of the year, she wasn't as cheerful as she normally would be.

 _"Hey, you okay?"_

 _Haley looked up from her lunch to see her best friend joining her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"_

 _"You just seem kind of down. What's wrong? None of your AP classes hand out homework on the first day?" he joked._

 _Haley solemnly smiled. "No I got plenty. It's going to keep me busy for a while actually."_

 _Jake furrowed his brows. "Is it because the tutor center doesn't open till a couple weeks?"_

 _She shook her head. "I just miss Nathan, that's all."_

 _Jake inwardly scolded himself. Of course, how could he be so dense? "I'm sorry Hales."_

 _She shrugged him off. "It's okay. I'm fine, really. How's your first day of senior year going?" she asked in hope of a new distraction._

 _Jake began talking about how his teachers are already pushing a college agenda on all of them but he could tell Haley wasn't fully listening. After all, college is one of her favorite topics and all she was adding to the conversation was incoherent responses._ _So because Jake saw how sad Haley was, he decided he would take her to surprise Nathan in Tree Hill that same weekend._

* * *

It was Saturday and Nathan was at the river court playing basketball with the guys. It was typically a fun game where they'd all show off their skills. Unfortunately for Nathan, his skills weren't really kicking in as he missed his third shot.

"What's going on with you Nate?" asked Mouth from the bleachers.

"Yeah, dawg! I thought High Flyers was supposed to make you play better not play suckier," commented Tim.

Nathan ignored their jabs and just shrugged as he walked himself to the bench area. He wasn't even in the mood to remind Tim he was white.

The guys just stood on the court confused about Nathan's behavior. He'd been acting weird the past couple of days and they had no idea why. Lucas, on the other hand, did.

Sensing Nathan wouldn't want the other guys listening to his business, Lucas sat down next to Nate to ask him personally, "It's because of that girl you met at High Flyers right?" Nathan had mentioned her a couple times when they talked during summer and Lucas had seen her briefly when he picked Nathan up from camp.

Nathan didn't answer, he just drank from his water bottle.

"You miss her don't you?" Lucas asked knowingly.

"If I say yes will you get off my back?" Nate snapped.

Lucas lifted his hands in surrender and walked away.

"Broody!"

"Hey Cheery," he greeted his girlfriend with a peck on the lips. They had reconciled a couple months ago after a brief love triangle occurred involving Brooke's blonde best friend Peyton. She agreed to give him another opportunity after some time passed and she even managed to forgive her best friend and reconcile with her as well.

Brooke nodded towards Nathan. "He still depressed about tutor girl?" She coined that nickname after finding out that's how Nathan met her.

Lucas followed her direction and nodded. "Yeah."

"Hmm," Brooke cocked her head to the side in contemplation. "I wonder if my skills in bed ever left that kind of impression on a guy."

"Nah, Brooke I don't think that's it. If he just missed the sex then he would've slept with someone else by now. It's been two weeks. And you saw how he's basically ignoring every girl who blinks in his direction at school."

"True," Brooke conceded. "And hell, if a girl managed to get Nathan this lovesick I have to meet her. Not to mention thank her for ending his little thing with Rach-ho. God I hate that bitch."

"She still going after your spot on the team?" inquired Lucas.

Brooke groaned in annoyance. "The cow's relentless."

Lucas shook his head in amusement at Brooke's insult.

Rachel was a new student at Tree Hill High the prior year and her first impression with Brooke wasn't all that great. First, she happened to flirt endlessly with Lucas, and then she tried to get the cheerleading team against Brooke to take her captain spot. Needless to say, Brooke hated her and now that Nathan was into another girl she wouldn't have to fear about him ending up with Rachel.

After Rachel got the hint that Lucas was off limits she moved onto Nathan. Nathan would flirt back once and a while, mostly at parties when he was drunk, but he never went as far as to sleep with her. Sure he thought she was attractive, but her bitchy persona threw him off, not to mention Brooke's never-ending complaints of the red-head. He didn't think he could survive a verbal beat down from Brooke if he did hook up with Rachel. In all honesty, if it wasn't for his parents' divorce and everything that followed he eventually would've slept with Rachel.

* * *

"All right, should we call him and tell him we're here?" suggested Jake as they passed the 'Welcome to Tree Hill' sign on the freeway.

"But we'd ruin the surprise," pouted Haley.

"Well do you know where we could find him?"

Haley began to think. Tree Hill was pretty small from what Nathan described and seeing it in person has proven just that. She remembered him speaking very fondly over a basketball court near the river where he would often spend his time. "Let's find the river court. I mean it can't be too hard to find here right?"

Jake shrugged and began to drive around.

* * *

Nathan exhaled. He was exhausted. Not just physically, but emotionally. His energy was just drained from his body. He reached for his gym bag, stood up, and hauled it around his shoulder. He approached Brooke and Lucas. "Hey, I think I'm gonna head out."

"But I just got here," whined Brooke.

"I know, that's why I'm leaving," joked Nathan. He laughed when she slapped him on the arm.

"You want a ride home?" asked Lucas, worried about his brother's state.

Nathan shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. I think I'll just walk."

"You sure?"

Before Nathan could respond a truck pulled up in the parking lot causing everyone to stop turn their heads. The river court wasn't the most popular place in town so the ones that do visit tend to be familiar faces, or in this case, cars. They didn't recognize this one. But Nathan did.

"No way," Nathan mumbled under his breath.

The next few seconds were a blur. He saw the small figure exit from the passenger seat and he thought he was hallucinating. In an instant he dropped his gym bag and jogged across the court to embrace the girl who's been plaguing his thoughts for the past two weeks.

"Nathan! Put me down, you're making me dizzy!" exclaimed Haley. He obliged and as soon as her feet touched the ground he leaned in for a tender kiss.

"I can't believe you're here right now," he finally spoke.

Haley shrugged shyly and simply told him, "I missed you."

The couple, who had forgotten they weren't alone, heard Jake clear his throat. Haley rolled her eyes playfully. "And Jake was sick of seeing me all depressed."

"He's not the only one," spoke a new voice.

Haley looked behind Nathan and saw the small audience they had approaching them. She was never one for PDA or attention in general and this moment just about killed her. With a sheepish smile and flushed cheeks Haley waved. "Hi, I'm-"

"Tutor girl, right?" interrupted the bubbly brunette. She introduced herself to the girl attached to her friend. "I'm Brooke. I'm a friend of Nate's plus I'm dating his brother Lucas." Her dimpled smile calmed Haley's nerves. Her striking beauty, although intimidating, was fortunately surpassed by her friendly personality.

"Nice to meet you," Haley smiled. "And it's actually Haley," she corrected.

"But you're a tutor right?" asked Brooke.

Haley nodded, not sure as to what Brooke was getting at.

"And you're a girl?"

Again, Haley nodded. "Yeah, but-"

"Then you're tutor girl," Brooke decided.

The rest of the guys laughed at Brooke's antics because that's who she was. Jake even chuckled because it was pretty amusing. Nathan would've too but he felt he should step in before she went over any other boundaries. "Brooke-"

"It's okay Nathan," Haley interrupted. "The nickname, although not very original, is harmless. Besides, _Tigger_ can call me whatever she wants."

"Tigger?" Brooke questioned.

Haley nodded. "Yeah, my nickname for you. Since you're all bouncy."

"Huh," Brooke mumbled. "I like it!" she exclaimed after a short pause. "And I like you," she pointed to Haley. "You've got a mouth. And I mean clearly since it was attached to Nate's just minutes ago."

Despite her last comment Haley joined in the laughter. She had to admit, Brooke was pretty funny.

Brooke nodded to Jake and asked, "So who's the hottie who brought you?" she winked.

Jake chuckled. "I'm Jake. I'm Haley's best friend and I was Nathan's roommate back at High Flyers."

"You play for Oak Lake right?" asked Lucas.

Jake nodded. "Yeah, small forward."

Lucas pointed at himself, "Same. We went head to head at last year's Sparkle tournament."

Jake remembered. "That's right, Number 3 Scott."

"Yeah, Lucas. Nice to meet you man," he said as they shook hands.

"You, too."

"I have to admit, you guys handed our asses to us last year. Your captain, what was his name?" asked Lucas.

Jake hesitated before answering, "Damien West." Haley flinched at his name and Nathan cringed but it was oblivious to everyone else.

"Yeah, him. He was insane," Lucas commented.

"Was he the guy that kept yelling at the referee?" Mouth spoke up.

The memory of him was slowly appearing into Nathan's mind. God he was even a selfish jerk on the court.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Jake answered.

Nathan cleared his throat and chose to change the subject. "By the way that's Mouth and that's Tim."

After a couple more minutes of talking Nathan and Haley left to his apartment and Jake stayed behind at the river court to play some ball.

"Hey," Tim whispered. Jake turned around and nodded for him to proceed. "You think I got a shot with your friend?"

Jake looked at him in disbelief. Was he serious? Luckily Brooke overheard.

"Idiot, she's Nathan's girlfriend. And you're damn lucky he isn't here to pummel you to the floor."

With that Tim scurried away back to the court after mumbling a quick sorry.

Brooke turned to Jake. "Ignore him. He says stupid stuff all the time and occasionally does stupid shit, but he's harmless."

"Will do."

"So, what can you tell me about Naley?" she inquired excitedly.

"What?" Jake asked confused.

"Naley. What can you tell me about them?" Brooke repeated.

"No, I heard you. I just don't know what that is."

"It's Nathan and Haley combined, duh."

Jake laughed. She sure was something. "Um, well what do you want to know?"

Brooke squealed as she latched her arm onto his. "Everything you know, of course."

* * *

 **IX**

* * *

Finally we met the Tree Hill gang! This chapter was a bit long so I split it into two.

Part 2 will be posted next time and we'll get to meet Peyton there. By the way, does anyone have a preference for endgame on who Lucas ends up with? Let me know.

&Make sure to leave a review letting me know what you thought :)

(P.S. i changed the story's summary if anyone cares, hah.)

\- R. xx


	10. Chapter 10

"Here we are. Home sweet home." Nathan pushed the door completely open and turned the switch for the lights to come on.

Haley entered the small apartment and took in what she saw. She was impressed at how nicely furnished it was.

"Nathan this place looks great," she complemented.

"Thanks, but honestly it's all Brooke and Peyton. They decorated the place this summer while I was at camp." Haley looked at him for clarification on the new name. "Oh, uh, Peyton's another friend. She's really close to Brooke. She and I dated, actually," he revealed while scratching the back of his head nervously. Haley raised her eyebrows at that news. "It was a long time ago though. We realized we were better off as friends."

Haley nodded. "How long did it last?" she asked casually as she took a seat on his couch.

Nathan swallowed. "About a year." He cautiously sat down next to her and positioned himself to face her.

"I thought you said you've never been in a committed relationship before?" she inquired, adjusting her own position.

"Actually I said I've never been in a _healthy_ committed relationship," he corrected. "And that's still true. Me and Peyton, to say the least, were toxic. We were basically friends who fought and had sex a lot. Long story short we cut the sex and the fighting stopped. We just stayed friends." Nathan wasn't sure if he shared too much, but he figured he might as well tell her now in case his past comes back to bite him in the ass. Not to mention he knew Haley's stance on sex. She wasn't ready yet and he wasn't going to push her like Damien had. After a long pause he said, "Hales?"

"It's Peyton and I."

"What?" he asked confused.

"You'd think after a couple weeks of tutoring you'd get it right by now," she joked with a teasing smile.

"You're not mad?" he asked still trying to process her reaction.

"Of course I'm not," she chuckled at his look of relief. "Nathan, you can't change who you were just as much as I can't change what I've been through. What matters is who we are now," she smiled up at him.

Nathan shook his head in amazement at the girl sitting next to him. "Man, you're awesome." He followed his statement with a light peck on her lips.

Haley couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you. Now why don't you finish giving me a tour of the place?" she suggested as she stood up.

"Why?" he asked bewildered. "What's left is my bathroom and bedroom."

At the sound of bedroom Haley gave him a sly look and flirty smile.

It didn't take long for Nathan to understand, "Follow me," he stood up, grabbed her hand, and sprinted to his room with a giggling Haley in tow. She may not be ready for sex, but she's proven to Nathan by now that she wasn't a prude either.

* * *

"I wonder what's taking them so long. I mean, hello! They're the ones who suggested we go to dinner," said Brooke. She, Jake, and Lucas were currently sitting at a booth in Karen's Café waiting for Nathan and Haley to join them.

"Aren't they walking from his apartment?" Jake reminded her.

"Please," Brooke scoffed. "Nathan's place is closer to the café than the river court."

Jake looked at Lucas for confirmation and Lucas nodded.

"If anything I bet they called us because they had planned on working up quite an appetite and then lost track of time playing in between the sheets."

"Are you saying they're having sex?" asked a shocked Jake.

Brooke cocked her head to the side at how innocent he was. "Well what else is there? I mean we're talking about two hormonal teenagers in an apartment alone without adult supervision."

Jake had to admit he didn't think about that. "Damn."

Brooke nodded happily at corrupting another young mind. "Oh, look. Even goldilocks made it before them." Brooke waved her arm and called out for her friend. "P. Sawyer, over here!"

"Hey, sorry I got caught up with work."

"Tric's show next week?" asked Lucas.

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, it's been pretty hectic. Where's Nathan and his new girlfriend?" she asked as she joined the table.

"They're not here yet," Brooke replied. Upon seeing Peyton's eyes travel to Jake, Brooke spoke up again. "Oh and this handsome young fellow is Jake…"

"Jagielski," Jake added when Brooke gave him a look. "I'm a friend of Haley's."

" _Best_ friend," Brooke corrected.

Jake furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh, yeah." Why did Brooke feel the need to emphasize that?

Peyton on the other hand knew why. She had shared an insecurity of hers with Brooke on whether she should even come out tonight. What with her history with Nathan. She didn't want his new girlfriend feeling threatened of her or hating her and felt it might be best to just stay away. Especially since she'd already ruined another one of her best friend's relationships. She knew that Brooke wanted her to know that if Nathan was cool with Haley having a male best friend, then Haley would understand him being cool with her. Though Peyton highly doubted it, considering she and Nathan were exes, she agreed to come.

"Hi, I'm Peyton."

"Nice to meet you," he smiled.

"You too."

"So what's Trick?" he inquired.

"Oh it's this club I work for. Actually Lucas's mom is the owner. We started doing more events for all ages and I'm in charge of them."

"That's awesome. I wish Jacksonville had something like that. We have a decent music scene but most of the venues are bars so you can't get in without a good fake ID."

"Exactly! That's why I'm doing what I'm doing."

Brooke watched as the chemistry between Peyton and Jake began to become clear. This was a pleasant surprise for her and she was happy they were hitting it off. She just hoped he was single. "So Jake, you got a special girl back home?" Brooke asked. She never was one for subtlety.

Peyton and Lucas laughed as Jake felt blindsided. "Uh, actually I do," he admitted.

Brooke's previous smile wiped off but she quickly replaced it again. "Really?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah," he grinned, now more confidently. Brooke could tell by how big his smile was that he was seriously head over heels for this girl.

"How long have you been together?" Peyton asked.

"Uh," Jake chuckled. "It'll be a year next month actually. I have a picture in my wallet if you want to see." He dug out his wallet from his pocket when the girls nodded. "Ah, here she is." He took out the picture and handed it to them.

The girls looked at the picture expecting a couple photo of Jake and his mystery girlfriend but were pleasantly surprised to see it was a baby girl. They looked up at him for clarification.

"Oh, yeah the special girl in my life is my daughter. Her name's Jenny."

The girls proceeded to awe in unison and Jake and Lucas laughed at the typical response.

"She's beautiful Jake," Peyton commented as she handed him back the photo.

"Thank you," he said putting it back in his wallet.

"So when you said you'll be together for a year next month you meant…" Peyton trailed on.

"That she'd be turning a year old, yeah."

"Wow, you became a dad at 16?" stated Lucas. He couldn't imagine being in that situation.

"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without Hales though. She's Jenny's fairy godmother and mine too come to think of it. She's been really great and supportive."

"What about her mom?" Brooke prodded.

Jake licked his lips expressing his discomfort. "Uh," he looked down hesitantly, "she's no longer in the picture."

Before he received any looks of pity, Jake quickly added, "It's okay though. Jenny and I manage fine on our own."

They talked for another minute or so when Nathan and Haley came waltzing into the café.

"Finally," Lucas muttered.

"What took you guys so long?" asked Jake.

"We took the long way," Nathan said.

"I'm sure you did," Brooke commented slyly. She and Peyton shared a soft laugh.

Haley laughed nervously as Nathan pulled up a chair for her.

"Oh my God," Brooke gasped. "Did you see that?" Brooke asked Peyton with her hand on her chest.

"Why yes, it appears Nathan Scott was being a gentleman. Hell must have frozen over," Peyton answered and the girls broke out in laughter with Haley hardly stifling her own. Nathan scowled at his two friends as he took his own seat.

"Ha-Ha," he deadpanned. "By the way Peyton, this is Haley. Haley this is Peyton. You can see why we broke up."

Peyton narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a playful glare. If his little jab didn't garner the laughter that followed she would've had more time to process the fact that Nathan told Haley about their past.

"Hi Peyton, it's nice to meet you," Haley smiled.

"You too. And can I say you are much too pretty and nice to be with Nathan."

"Don't forget smart. She is Tutor Girl after all," Brooke winked at Haley.

"Don't tell her that, she'll leave me," Nathan jokingly warned.

"Aw don't worry sweetie, I already know," Haley patted his hand.

The table laughed.

"Whatever," Nathan mumbled. He swiftly raised his hand for menus and the busboy behind him complied almost immediately.

After ordering their drinks, the group began to look through their menus.

"Do you know what you want?" Nathan asked Haley. He really only got the menus for Haley and Jake since the rest of the group already knew the menu by heart and had their usual ready to go.

Haley shook her head indecisively. "I don't know what to get. Everything sounds so good. What are you getting?" she turned to look at him.

"Just a sandwich," he answered.

" _Just_ a sandwich?" Haley reiterated with a raised eyebrow.

Nathan broke out his smirk. "Okay, _my_ sandwich. You happy now?"

Haley chuckled softly as she looked back at her menu. There was a whole specials area dedicated to the four friends. Nathan's was a sandwich, Lucas and Peyton's were types of burgers with their own sides, and Brooke's was a custom salad. "You weren't kidding when you said you guys come here all the time."

Nathan shrugged with a grin. She had no idea. "You'll get something on the menu eventually too."

Haley gave him a sarcastic look saying 'oh, sure' then softly scoffed. "Right."

"I'm serious," Nathan protested. "I have an in with the owner."

"Really?" Haley asked intrigued.

Nathan nodded surely. "Yeah. We go way back. Actually she and Luke go way back."

At the mention of his name, Lucas looked away from Jake and spoke up. "What about me?"

Nathan rolled his eyes good-naturally. "Nothing big bro. I was just saying if you ever pulled your head out of your books long enough to make a basket, you could've been the one to go to High Flyers."

Lucas rolled his eyes in response, knowing Nathan was just playing, but Haley, on the other hand, scolded Nathan with a swat on his arm.

"Don't be mean," she told him.

"What? This is what brothers do, Hales. We pick on each other," defended Nathan.

This time it was Haley who rolled her eyes. "I know what siblings do Nathan, or did you forget I'm one of five?"

"You have five sisters and brothers?" asked a shocked Brooke.

"Four, actually," corrected Haley. "I'm the youngest of the five."

"Wow. How was that growing up?" Peyton pried seeing as the rest of them grew up as only children.

"It was… loud." The table laughed and Jake nodded in agreement. "Growing up I'd wish I could escape it and go to some haven. Something like this," she commented as she looked around the cozy café. "But I guess Jake had to do."

Jake scoffed in mock-offense as the Tree Hill gang laughed at Haley's soft jab at him. "Hey!"

The table's laughter was succumbing when a slightly older woman approached the table with a notepad in one hand and an apron monogrammed 'Karen's Café' wrapped around her protruding stomach.

"What can I get for you kids?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Mom, you know you shouldn't be out working the tables in your condition," Lucas immediately spoke.

Haley watched the dynamic between the mother and son.

"Lucas, dear, I'm pregnant not disabled. I think I can manage walking around taking orders. Besides, I really just came to meet the girl who's gotten Nathan all smitten."

Nathan scoffed at the word 'smitten' but didn't refute her statement.

Haley suddenly felt the attention on her and realized the woman was talking about her. "Oh, hi, I'm Haley. And that's my best friend Jake over there." She pointed to a waving Jake.

"Hello," the woman smiled broadly. "I'm Karen, Lucas's mother and well technically Nathan's aunt," she introduced.

"Aunt?" Haley prodded.

"Yeah, my mom married our uncle," Lucas responded.

Haley nodded now understanding. "And now you're expecting?"

Karen smiled proudly and held her hand on her stomach. "We are. Soon Lucas will have another little brother or sister who will tease him endlessly," she joked.

"What? Is today 'pick on Lucas' day?" asked a mildly confused Lucas as the table chuckled amusedly.

"No, babe, that's the first Tuesday of every month. Today's just an exception," winked Brooke.

Lucas rolled his eyes at the playful banter directed at him.

"As much as I love watching my son get ganged on, what orders should I place? The usual?" asked Karen.

The Tree Hill gang nodded as they passed the menus to Karen.

"And what about you two?" Karen asked Jake and Haley.

"What the hell," Jake shrugged. "I'll try Peyton's burger," he handed his menu to Karen.

Peyton smiled triumphantly as Lucas shook his head in disappointment. The two blondes had been trying to convince Jake on which of their specials he should choose and Peyton was delighted he chose hers. Jake laughed at their juvenile reactions.

"And what about you, sweetheart?" Karen asked Haley.

"Oh, um, I actually haven't decided yet," she answered sheepishly.

Before Karen could respond Nathan stood from his chair and approached Karen to whisper something in her ear. Haley along with the rest of the table looked on curiously and their confusion continued as Karen's response to Nathan's words were a smile and nod.

"Of course I can," Karen told Nathan softly. She then turned to the table as Nathan sat back down.

Haley was just about to ask what happened when Karen spoke up again.

"Haley, your order has been placed. I'll take the menu," she smiled as she gestured for it.

Stunned, Haley passed the menu over to Karen and quietly thanked her despite her confusion.

"Nathan, what was that about?" she finally asked after Karen left the group. The rest of the table watched as the couple talked.

"I ordered for you."

Haley refrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I gathered that, but what did you order?"

"You'll see," he told her. He noticed her look of apprehension so he reassured her. "Don't worry, Hales. You're gonna like it. I promise," he smirked.

Haley pursed her lips before giving into her smile. "For your sake, I better love it."

Nathan laughed. "Okay. I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"I guess so," Haley responded.

As they waited for their food, the table got to know each other a little better.

"So, tell us about yourself Haley," stated Peyton.

"Uh, what do you want to know?" she asked nervously. She felt as though she were being interrogated by Nathan's parents, but this scenario may be more intimidating seeing as the people sitting across from her were Nathan's true family. Needless to say, she hoped she didn't screw this up.

Nathan could tell she was nervous so he reached for her hand under the table and proceeded to give it a reassuring squeeze. Haley looked over at him and smiled gratefully.

"Well so far we know you're a junior, you're a tutor, and you spend summers at a basketball camp full of hot jocks," Brooke listed on her fingers. She paused briefly before remembering one more item. "Oh! And you're the youngest of five."

Haley chuckled. "All true."

"So how about you first tell us why you were at High Flyers in the first place?"

"My dad coaches for High Flyers. He's been coaching there since I was a little girl so I basically grew up on that camp."

"Wait. Your dad is Jimmy James?" Lucas asked suddenly thrilled at the sudden subject change.

Haley nodded proudly. She knew his name garnered recognition, after all, you can't play basketball in North Carolina and not have heard of Coach James.

Besides being a great coach, Jimmy James was also a great player back in his day. Not only did he take his high school team to state finals and won, but he got a full athletic scholarship to UCLA and played under Hall of Fame coach John Wooden and contributed to two of national championships. He was drafted into the NBA his senior year of UCLA and played for the Lakers for two short years before retiring early. His reason was named Vivian James. It was around the renewal of his contract that he and his high school sweetheart Lydia found out they were expecting. He opted out of the renewal in order to fully commit to his family. The parents-to-be married and stayed in Los Angeles where Jimmy worked as an assistant basketball coach for his alma mater. It wouldn't be until years later, after their youngest was born, that the family would relocate to Jimmy and Lydia's home state of North Carolina. There, Jimmy took a job as the head coach of a new basketball camp. His experience as a player and assistant coach gave him the expertise and knowledge of training serious basketball players.

"That's awesome!" Lucas exclaimed.

Peyton and Brooke just shared glances of amusement at Lucas's giddy behavior.

"I like to think so," Haley shrugged smiling.

"Damn," Lucas shook his head, still amazed. "So you know Clay Evans too?" he asked a follow-up question.

Haley chuckled at his not-so subtle interest in how basketball is connected to her life. "Yeah, he's married to my older sister. He's practically my brother."

"Nice. See I've been trying to get some details from Nate about how they were but all he's been doing is sulking over you," Lucas said.

The table snickered at Lucas's quip to Nathan. Nathan, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at his brother in a 'watch it' kind of way.

"Well there's not much to tell except they're basically teenage boys dressed in adult suits. They're only ever serious about basketball," Haley replied.

"Sounds like two people we know," Brooke stated pointedly at the Scott brothers.

Lucas immediately shook his head and raised his hands in defense. "Don't look at me."

Brooke narrowed her eyes in suspicion but let it slide, knowing that Lucas did take his schooling serious. She then turned her attention to Nathan. "Fine, that just leaves Boy Toy over here." Haley, amused at the interaction, wondered where Brooke's nickname of her boyfriend derived from. Next to her, Nathan rolled his eyes, he loathed that nickname and Brooke knew it.

"I can be serious about other stuff besides basketball," he argued.

"Oh, really? Like what?" Brooke challenged him.

"Like Haley," he replied without hesitation.

Peyton and Brooke were left dumbfounded at his quick response, not to mention at how sweet and genuine it sounded. Who was he? This was not the same Nathan Scott who left for summer camp.

Haley, who had been daydreaming of where his nickname came from, was shaken out of her thoughts and looked over at Nathan. Her response to his answer was a shy smile accompanied by a blushing face. Though he would've much rather preferred a kiss, Nathan took it—after all, he loved being able to cause that reaction.

The conversation took a lighter tone once the food arrived and just as Nathan predicted, Haley loved his order.

"You remembered!" she gasped in surprise at seeing mac and cheese as her meal.

"Of course. When your girlfriend eats like a five year old, you remember," Nathan joked.

Haley rolled her eyes playfully then thanked him softly.

"You're welcome," he smiled, digging into his own plate.

"So Tutor Girl, since your family's so big on basketball, do you play?" asked Brooke.

Jake laughed before Haley could give an earnest response.

She turned her head to her chuckling best friend and crossed her arms. "Why's that so funny, Jake?"

Jake looked up from his own meal and despite his mouth was empty of food, he gulped. "Uh, sorry Hales. It's just- you know?" he stuttered.

Haley cocked her head to the side. "What?"

The rest of the table looked on, amused that this seemingly shy and sweet girl hid someone who wasn't afraid to defend herself.

"You're a klutz Hales," Jake pointed out with a shrug.

The group's eyes moved to Haley to gather her reaction to his words.

Haley's pursed lips swiftly transformed into a smile. "Fine, yes, I'm a klutz but still! They didn't know that," she ended with a soft nod in the direction of Nathan's friends.

"They would've figured it out eventually, babe," Nathan spoke up.

Haley turned to look at her boyfriend. "What's that supposed tu mean?"

"It follows you around. Crows attacked you on our way here," he pointed out.

The table softly chuckled at Haley's look of horror. They could tell that wasn't a story she wanted Nathan to share.

"It was a flock of ravens thank you very much," she stated with narrowed eyes.

"An unkindness, actually."

Haley and Nathan turned to Lucas. "What?"

"You said flock of ravens. It's actually an unkindness of ravens."

Haley cocked her head to the side with genuine curiosity. "Huh. Who knew?"

"I'm telling you. It's because his face is always deep in those books."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we get it Nate. I like to read."

"What are you reading right now?" asked Haley.

" _The Winter of Our Discontent_."

Haley smiled. "John Steinbeck, nice."

Lucas nodded smiling back. It was always nice to meet another avid reader.

"Can we please refrain from the book talk? There's more we need to learn about Tutor Girl," Brooke stated.

"There isn't much else, Brooke. I'm pretty much a 'what you see is what you get' type of person."

Brooke squinted her eyes in inspection. "See, I don't buy that. There's something else going on with you. Do you cheerlead?"

Haley snorted. "If I'm too clumsy for basketball I'm sure as hell too clumsy for cheerleading."

Brooke nodded. "Okay. But for the record, you totally have the bod for it. Seriously, if you ever want to learn anything I can hook you up with a uniform and teach you some moves. Nathan would thank me later," she finished with a wink towards the brunette boy.

Haley turned to find him sporting a smirk followed by a 'why not?' shrug.

Haley playfully rolled her eyes. Boys. "Thanks Brooke, but I don't think so. At least not anytime soon," she declined politely with a smile.

Brooke shrugged. "Suit yourself. But seriously, any hobbies that go beyond school?" she pushed.

Haley took a moment to think about it. Just as she was about to shake her head no Jake answered for her.

"She's into music."

"Jake," she hissed and kicked him hard underneath the table. Unfortunately for Nathan she had missed and instead kicked him.

"Ow," Nathan exclaimed in pain. Haley sent him an apologetic smile before glaring back at Jake.

"What? You are, Hales."

"Wait, back up. You make music?" asked a now interested Peyton. When it came to anything music related, her ears were fully open.

Haley shifted her glare from Jake to look at Peyton. "No."

"Yes." They answered simultaneously.

"Will you stop answering for me? I'm completely capable of speaking on my behalf," Haley told him.

"Not when it comes to your music." He turned to Peyton and added, "She writes her own stuff."

The rest of the table looked at Haley impressed. Nathan, who had no idea, looked at his girlfriend in amazement and wondered why she never mentioned this before.

"Is that true?" Nathan asked her.

Haley hesitated before answering. "Sort of," she stuttered. "I just like to fool around with it. It's not a big deal."

Nathan would've pressed harder if it were just the two of them, but he noticed her look of discomfort at the topic and decided to drop it.

"Okay."

She smiled softly, mentally thanking him for not pushing it.

* * *

The night ended shortly after. The group walked to the back of the café where their cars were parked.

"It was really nice meeting you tutor girl," Brooke smiled then surprised Haley by going in for a hug.

"Oh," she responded taken back, "It was nice meeting you too, _Tigger_ ," she smiled back.

Brooke laughed.

"Take care, Haley. And please, visit often. Nathan's much more bearable with you around," Peyton joked.

Haley chuckled. "I'll try my best."

"She's not kidding," Lucas added as Nathan just shook his head, annoyed at his friends. "But yeah, visit soon. And it was cool meeting you too, Jake."

Haley and Nathan waved goodbye as Brooke and Lucas drove off in her blue bug.

Jake left Haley and Nathan alone to give them some space to say goodbye and headed to his car. Conveniently, Peyton was parked next to his truck and they would later claim it was so she could keep him company while the couple was busy making sad googly eyes at each other.

"So, tell me the truth. They're horrible, right?"

Haley laughed. "Far from it, actually. I've concluded Lucas is my literature soulmate. And Brooke and Peyton were slightly intimidating but I was pleasantly surprised to find them so down to earth."

Nathan made a face. "Why would they intimidate you?" He was genuinely confused.

Haley snorted. "Because," she simply said.

He gave her a look that told her he wasn't following.

Haley nervously shifted on her feet. "Because… Well, let's face it Nathan, your friends are hot. And I mean, they're drop dead gorgeous and I'm—"

"Breathtakingly beautiful," he finished for her.

She looked at him with a soft smile. "That wasn't exactly what I was planning on saying."

"Why not? It's true."

She looked down shyly and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She looked back up at him and saw that he was completely serious about his statement before.

"Thank you," she said after a pause.

He smiled back at her. "You're welcome," he stated as he began to close the distance between them with a kiss.

"And I guess you're not so bad to look at either," she added teasingly right before their lips could touch.

"Oh, well. That's good to know," he joked back.

They laughed as their lips touched. She wrapped her hands around his neck after their laughter subsided and their kiss got more intimate.

"We should do this more often," Haley stated after pulling apart and regaining her breath.

"Kiss? Yeah, I can get on board with that," Nathan smirked moving close to her again and planting a small peck on her lips.

"No!" she giggled pulling away. "I mean, visit each other. If we really want this, us, to work—"

"And we do," he cut in.

She smiled at his words. "We do," she repeated. "So then we should make an effort to see each other more often. I was thinking weekly visits?"

Nathan took a moment to think. "Yeah. We could see each other on weekends. I'll visit Jacksonville next week."

Haley grinned. "Really?" He nodded. "And then the week after that I'll visit Tree Hill."

"Sounds good. Now how about we seal this deal with a kiss?"

"If that's the only way," she played along.

They were closing in on their kiss when they heard Jake.

"You two ever gonna stop sucking face? I'd like to beat the traffic."

The couple pulled apart and while Haley laughed, Nathan rolled his eyes at the interruption and flipped Jake off.

* * *

 **X**

* * *

More to come. Please don't forget to review and favorite&follow.

Thanks for reading :)

\- R. xx


	11. Chapter 11

"James?"

She was sitting at one of the lunch tables of the school's quad reading a book Lucas had recommended to her the previous week. She looked up after hearing her name and smiled at the interrupter. "Hi Jonathan."

"Hey," he greeted back with his own smile. He motioned to the seat opposite her as a way of asking if it was okay for him to sit down. He took her nod as a sign of permission so he placed his backpack on the table next to hers and took a seat.

She put down her book. "What's up?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, you tell me. It's the second week of school and I haven't seen much of you."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry," she smiled sheepishly. Since basketball practice and the tutoring center haven't officially begun, she nor Jake have had much reason to stay after school which is usually the time she sees Jonathan. "But, hey! You're not one to talk either, Mr. VP." His previous years he was just a student council member but this year, his junior year, he was the student body vice president. Because of his commitment to the student council he usually stays at school late which is how they formed a friendship.

"You're right. I get it. Friendship is a two way street."

Haley nods in agreement. "Yup. So how was your summer?"

"It was good. I spent it here in Jacksonville. I mean, it was no basketball camp," Haley rolled her eyes at his not-so-subtle jab, "but it was good nonetheless. How about you? How was your summer?"

"It was good, too," she replied with a broad smile.

He noticed her face instantly brighten at his inquiry about summer. "Just good?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so maybe great."

"I bet there's a story behind that," he commented, amused at her behavior.

"Actually there is, so—" Haley began but she was interrupted by another intruder.

"Sorry, can I get behind you guys? We're putting up posters for Homecoming," asked a girl who Haley recognized as a sophomore. She along with another girl were holding big rolled up posters and tape.

"Sure, sorry."

"Thanks," the girl beside her smiled.

Haley and Jonathan grabbed their stuff and walked to a table that wasn't in front of a wall so they wouldn't need to move again.

Haley watched on as the girls taped the poster to the wall then moved on to another location.

"I can't believe they're already setting up for Homecoming. Isn't it like six weeks away?" Haley asked.

"Yup. October 10th. Homecoming committee doesn't play around. Besides, doesn't it give you girls plenty of time to shop for dresses and dates?" He joked, knowing it would piss Haley off.

Haley scoffed. "I resent that. You know, not all girls care about that kind of stuff."

Jonathan scrunched his face. "But, don't they?"

Haley gave him a blank, stern look. "We don't. At least I don't."

"Not even a little?" he asked pushing it.

Haley gave him another look and he placed his hands up in defeat.

"So you're not going to go?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I've only ever gone to one dance and that was with Jake my freshman year because I wanted to see what it was like."

"And…?" Jonathan prodded.

"And I haven't gone to another since." It's not that she hated dances, it was just that she never really cared for them.

"Well maybe if you had a date, and I mean a real date not a Jake date. Would that make you reconsider?" he asked.

Haley tilted her head to the side. If Nathan were to ask her, would she say yes? "Maybe," she replied after a pause.

Jonathan nodded back.

"So what about you? Are you going with _Shannon_?" she asked with a lovey-dovey accent on his girlfriend's name.

Jonathan smiled tightly before glancing down. "Actually, we broke up a couple weeks into summer."

Haley frowned. "Oh no. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I know you didn't."

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I am. We just didn't click anymore, I guess."

Haley nodded understanding.

Jonathan decided to move along the conversation. "So, uh, you didn't finish telling me what made your summer so ' _great,'_ " He air-quoted.

Haley opened her mouth to share more details about her summer but her phone vibrated indicating she had received a message. "Sorry, it's Jake," she said after checking her phone. "I was just waiting for him to get out of his meeting with the counselor. He's giving me a ride home."

"No worries," Jonathan responded. The two stood up and grabbed their things before sharing a brief hug.

"I guess I'll save the story for next time?" she stated in question form.

"The suspense is killing me," he joked.

Haley chuckled. "It was good talking to you."

"You too," he smiled back. "We should hang out more often," he suggested.

Haley smiled. "Yeah! We should. I'll let Jake know."

She didn't see the corners of his smile turn downwards for a split second. "Yeah, let him know. The three of us can do something."

They said goodbye and he waved as she walked towards the parking lot.

Jake was flipping through his CD collection when his passenger door opened. He didn't need to look up to know it was Haley.

"Hey. What's today's playlist?" she asked as she buckled up.

"I'm thinking, Jack's Mannequin?" he asked with a raised CD in his hand.

"Sounds good. Let it rip."

Halfway to her house he put the volume down. "So you excited?" he asked knowing her bouncing knee and fidgeting were obvious signs that she was.

She turned to him and tried hard not to smile to big but her nerves won over her brain. "Yeah. I can't wait to see him."

Jake shook his head in amusement. He was happy for his best friend. He was especially happy that she and Nathan had made some sort of arrangement—he doesn't think he could handle a depressed Haley like last week all year long.

"He's coming tomorrow right?"

Haley nodded. "He is."

"What are you guys going to do?"

"Hang out."

Jake scoffed at her response. "'Hang out'? That's it?" he asked disbelieving.

Haley exhaled. "Fine. He's getting here late in the morning so we're going to have brunch with my parents then we're going to go out."

"Sounds lame."

Haley rolled her eyes. She would take lame over nothing any day with Nathan.

* * *

"I'll get it!" Haley screamed from her bedroom.

It was the following morning and a knock was heard coming from the front door. Jimmy and Lydia, who were in the kitchen, suspected it was Nathan. The parents shared an amused look over their daughter's enthusiasm and softly chuckled at hearing her run down the stairs to open the door.

"Hi," Haley said slightly out of breath. Despite her petite figure, she wasn't in the best shape and running down those stairs took a lot out of her.

"Hi Hales," Nathan greeted back. He was surprised but pleased when Haley took the initiative and stepped towards him to pull his head down for a kiss. He was expecting a quick peck but Haley surprised him again by pushing the boundaries and turning the kiss into a more tender and hunger-filled one.

He wasn't going to complain though. As much as he missed her, he missed her lips and her touch twice as much. So, shamelessly, he complied.

After another minute or so their mini make-out session on the porch would come to a halt after they heard Lydia call out from the kitchen. "I know that silence means you're playing tonsil hockey with your tongues but why don't the two of you come inside?"

After pulling away Haley rolled her eyes at her mother's words and dragged Nathan behind her after shutting the door. "What so you can play tonsil hockey against us?"

"Now Haley, do you honestly believe we would do anything but?" joked her dad.

Again, Haley rolled her eyes. But secretly, in her head, she smiled. This was the dad she missed the past year: the funny, corny dad who isn't always serious. More importantly, she was glad to see this side of him in front of Nathan. It meant he was comfortable.

Nathan let out a chuckle. He had forgotten how eccentric Haley's parents were, especially Coach James off the court.

"Have a seat Nathan, I'll grab you a plate," said Lydia.

Nathan thanked her and took a seat down next to Haley, across from where her parents were seated.

"So how are you Nate? Anything new in your life? Perhaps a new girlfriend who isn't my daughter?" spoke Jimmy.

Haley glared at her father while Nathan smiled at the teasing atmosphere.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I'm headed over there after this. I really only showed for Lydia's cooking," Nathan joked back. His comment received laughter from the James adults but a hard kick to the shin from the James daughter. Still, he thought as he softly began to stroke the what-will-become-a-bruise, worth it.

"How are you really Nate?" asked Lydia as she placed two full plates down for her daughter and guest.

"It sucks being so far from Haley," he took that moment to glance over at her and the two shared a brief sad smile, "but I've been doing pretty good, actually." He had to bite back his chuckle after hearing Haley mutter 'well' to correct him. "And Lydia, this looks great, thank you."

Lydia smiled gratefully at the compliment.

"How about your game?" Jimmy asked.

Nathan smirked as the James women groaned.

"Top notch. We haven't started practice yet though. Won't be for another couple weeks. We're still in the conditioning stage."

"And how's that?"

"Easy compared to your brutal training," Nathan answered without hesitation.

Jimmy chuckled. "That's what I like to hear."

After breakfast Haley and Nathan headed out. They drove around with a few stops here and there where Haley would explain its significance to the town or more importantly to her. She was like Nathan's own little tour guide. After an hour or so the two stopped at a small ice cream parlor, a favorite spot of Haley's, before heading to the beach.

They were sitting on the warm sand across the water, enjoying the light breeze the ocean was offering in contrast to the day's hot sun.

"I can't believe your favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip too," Haley commented as she dug her spoon in his ice cream cup.

Nathan just smiled broadly in return, not bothering to correct her statement.

 _"_ _What are you thinking?" asked Nathan as he hugged Haley from behind. They were in line for ice cream and he noticed she was lost in deep thought. He felt her exhale in his arms._

 _"_ _My usual go-to is mint chocolate chip but I really want to try their special," she answered conflicted._

 _Nathan nodded thoughtfully before responding, "Get the special. I'll get mint chocolate chip, you can have some of mine."_

 _She looked up behind her and smiled before leaning up and kissing his cheek._

Nathan realized then that that was his new favorite pastime: making Haley happy.

After she pulled her spoon away and went back to her own cup Nathan took a bite of his ice cream. As he surveyed the taste of the flavor he determined it was no rocky road, but it wasn't half bad, especially if it made Haley smile.

"So what do you want to do afterwards?" she asked.

"We could take a walk," suggested Nathan.

Haley nodded thoughtfully. "Okay." She was looking at the ocean when she felt Nathan's eyes on her. She turned and asked consciously, "What?"

Nathan's smile just broadened. He shrugged. "I missed you."

She smiled back. "I missed you, too." She leaned forward and kissed him.

Nathan was about to reach for her face to pull her in deeper but she pulled away and smirked before stating, "Race you to the trash can." She stood up and started running.

Nathan was left almost star struck for a moment before registering what happened. He yelled, "Not fair," before getting up and catching up to her almost immediately to which he picked her up from behind and spun her around.

They may have been spinning, but they were both falling, falling for each other. And boy were they falling hard.

* * *

The following weekend Haley was set to visit Nathan in Tree Hill. Jake was initially supposed to take her but Jenny got a small cold and he had to stay behind to take care of her. So here Haley was, sitting on her porch waiting for Nathan to arrive.

She stood up when she saw his car pull up. She noticed as she walked her way across her yard that he was about to unbuckle his belt to step out and help her in. She raised her hand to stop him and said she's got it. He nodded then rested his back on the seat.

"Tired?" she asked knowingly as she positioned herself in his passenger's seat. She knew he had to have woken up fairly early to pick her up considering he pushed for her coming in the morning so they could spend as much time together.

"No, I'm good," he lied.

Haley bit back a smile. "Okay." She buckled in her seat belt and adjusted her duffle bag on her lap.

"You planning on spending the night?" he joked motioning to her bag.

"Actually I am," she replied shyly.

Nathan's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh." He wasn't expecting that. Of course he'd take her in, but he didn't know she was okay or ready for that. Did her parents know? Of course they knew. They had to. But wait, why was he the last to know?

"It's not what you think," Haley could see the wheels turning in his head. "I'm spending the night at Peyton's. It's a 'girl's night'," she air-quoted.

"'Girl's Night'?" He wasn't sure whether that was any better or worse.

Haley shrugged. "Brooke called me last night and insisted I bring stuff to sleepover."

"Ah, now I get it. You mean, she forced you," he said knowing full well that it wasn't Haley's idea.

"Pretty much, yeah. But you should know, I mean she got my number from you."

He cocked his head to the side. "I didn't give it to her."

"Well if you didn't then who did?" she asked confused.

He shrugged. "I don't know. But I do know Brooke's resourceful."

Haley huffed quietly as he started the engine and pulled out of the street.

* * *

After a day of some sight-seeing the pair decided to have their late lunch inside Nathan's apartment with some take out.

They were laughing and sharing funny anecdotes when their conversation turned to something more serious.

"You know you really don't have to go tonight," Nathan started. Haley playfully rolled her eyes. All day Nathan had been telling her that, as if she'd change her mind.

"Nathan, I already told you-"

"I know, I know. You made a commitment and you don't back out of commitments," he interrupted.

Haley smiled. "Exactly." She leaned over to him and planted a peck on his lips.

They were eating out of take-out containers on the couch and switching back and forth.

"You know, you're really cool for being cool about Peyton."

Haley contemplated his statement as she chewed her last bite. "What?" she asked amused.

"It's just that most girlfriends wouldn't be all that excited about their boyfriends still being friends with their exes let alone hanging out with their boyfriend's exes," Nathan explained.

Haley cocked her head to the side. "'Ex _es'_? What? You dated Brooke too?" she joked knowing full well Nathan wouldn't be able to handle Brooke's personality long enough to date.

He rolled his eyes in response. "I'm being serious you goofball." He threw a fortune cookie at her.

After Haley's laughter subsided she spoke again. "Nathan I wouldn't be with you if I didn't trust you. The fact that you even told me about Peyton means a lot. It showed that you cared enough about me and about us to tell me something you knew may not have gone all that well. That being said there's a reason why I'm being 'really cool' about you and Peyton," she air quoted for his benefit.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I know that romantic relationships don't always work out and that some people are better off completely apart or, like you and Peyton, as friends." She cracked a smile, "Besides, from what I saw the first time I visited, you two bicker as much as me and Jake."

"Yeah, we are better off as friends," Nathan agreed. "Actually, I like to block out me and Peyton's whole relationship."

Haley laughed. "Nathan you can't just act like nothing happened."

"Oh, believe me, I can and I do."

Haley rolled her eyes in defeat and grabbed a container off the coffee table to dig in.

Nathan battled with himself before eventually giving in and saying, "So I know about Damien, but I don't know about before him, or before me."

Haley knew immediately what he was trying to convey. "You want to know who I've dated before you."

"No," he answered almost instantly. "I just, want to know if there were others. I don't need details or names, actually I'd prefer it if you didn't, but I'd just like to know for…" he paused trying to think of the write words.

"For experience purposes?"

Nathan didn't answer, instead he offered, "Look, why don't I go first." Haley nodded and put down the container to give him her full attention.

"After Peyton and I broke up, because of Lucas remember." The two shared a soft laugh. She knew about their history from what he told her that summer. "I kind of went on this whole binger. I partied a lot, I had meaningless flings or whatever. I didn't hook up with every girl if that's what you're thinking.

Anyways that all ended this year. I started getting tired of the party scene and it was around the time of my parents' separation and my emancipation. Things got kind of steady and there was this girl. She and I kind of had this… thing, I don't even know what to call it."

"Attraction?" suggested Haley.

"Yeah, I guess that fits." he answered softly. "Anyways, we never slept together, just a lot of flirting and one or two make-out sessions. A month later I headed to High Flyers and met you."

Haley smiled softly.

"None of those girls ever meant to me as much as you do, Hales. They don't even come close."

She reached for his hand and leaned in for a tender kiss.

When she pulled away he smirked and asked, "So, do you still hang out with any of your exes?"

Haley laughed. "No," she shook her head. She laughed again at his clear happiness of her answer. "As for boyfriends, I only had one other besides Damien. Not counting Jake of course."

"Jake?" Nathan raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Haley answered sheepishly. "Freshman year I kind of asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend."

Nathan vaguely remembers Jake telling him this. He made a face that asked her to elaborate.

"There was this girl and she wasn't the biggest fan of me. Anyways, she started this rumor that I'd give sexual favors in exchange for money and-"

"What?!"

Haley could see the fury in Nathan's eyes. "Nathan, it was years ago. And it was far from believable but I still got propositioned for it… a lot. Mostly as a joke but anyways that's when I asked Jake to be my pretend boyfriend so they'd back off. He was on the basketball team and they left me alone after that and the rumor eventually died down."

Nathan looked at her shocked. "I'm sorry Hales that sounds awful."

Haley smiled tightly. "It was. But I got through it and I managed to move past it. I mean I had to."

"She still bother you?" asked Nathan.

Haley shook her head. "No. We, uh, we eventually made amends. She half-assed apologized and I accepted."

"Why?" he asked baffled. "If you ask me you should've let her have it."

"Oh I did. I told her she could take her apology and shove it up her—" she stopped herself at seeing Nathan's smirk. She was getting worked up so she paused to calm herself. "But like I said, I had to move on. She became pretty fixed in my life whether I liked it or not."

"What do you mean?"

"The girl, Nicki, she's um, she's Jenny's mom," Haley revealed.

"Jenny? As in Jake's daughter Jenny?" Nathan asked shell-shocked.

Haley nodded solemnly. "Yeah. The drama between us didn't matter as much when we found out she was pregnant with Jake's baby. We let go of the past and we actually started getting along throughout her pregnancy. I knew she was having doubts about being a mother but I really thought she'd overcome it and at least be there." Haley paused. "She left town shortly after Jenny was born. Jake was heartbroken. We haven't seen or heard from her since."

"Wow. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for Jake," commented Nathan.

"Yeah. But it helps that he's got great supportive parents."

"And you. He has you too Hales. And your parents, right?"

Haley smiled. "Yeah, he does."

"Not everyone has parents like that," Nathan smiled curtly.

Haley furrowed her brows. "Everyone or you?"

Nathan chuckled humorlessly. "Good parenting is a wild concept in Tree Hill."

"They really hurt you, didn't they," she may have formed it into a question but her tone was a simple statement.

"Eh," Nathan shrugged, "Only if you consider manipulation, deceit, and abuse harmful."

Haley made a worrisome face and Nathan immediately regretted his words. "Hales," he scooted closer to her. "I'm fine. Yes, my parents are asses but I'm okay."

"Are you though?" she asked looking for the answer in his eyes instead of a vocal response.

"Honestly? I don't know. But I am better now, with you, than I ever was with them or alone. I'm also a lot happier," he smiled kindly.

Haley smiled back and leaned in for a tender kiss.

* * *

Nathan dropped Haley off at Peyton's house about an hour later. "We can still make a run for it if you want," he stated turning to his girlfriend.

"Ha-ha," she replied sardonically. "I'll be fine. Besides, they're two of your best friends. I'd be horrible not giving them a try or the benefit of the doubt."

Nathan grinned. "If you say so. Call me when they start asking about our sex life."

Haley scoffed. "First of all, we don't have a sex life," she ignored his mutter of 'not yet,' and continued, "and secondly, they will not ask that. It's way too personal."

"You do remember that the first time you met them they hinted that we were late because we were having sex," he reminded her.

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Oh my God, they're going to ask aren't they?"

Nathan chuckled. "Relax. They'll pull back if you tell them to. Sure they can be bitches but they'll be nice to you. And if they're not, they'll hear from me."

"Oh, great, my boyfriend's going to make it all better," she responded sarcastically. "I don't want you fighting my battles for me Nathan. I'm perfectly capable of sticking up for myself."

"I know, I just—" he sighed. "Fine, I'll stay out of it."

Haley smiled. "Thanks." She leaned in and said, "Wish me luck," before kissing him chastely on the lips.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning at 9. Call me if you need me to come earlier."

"Okay, _Dad_. Bye now," she waved as she stepped out of the car and proceeded to the front door.

Once inside Peyton revealed to her that they insisted on her spending the night with them so they can get to know each other. The two were currently in Peyton's bedroom while Brooke had stepped out.

"You sure your dad's okay with us spending the night?" Haley asked Peyton knowing her dad was out of town.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. He's gone a lot for his job so he actually prefers it when I have friends over, that way I'm not completely alone."

Haley nodded as she went back to painting her toenails. Brooke had forgotten something at her house and had stepped out to get it leaving Haley and Peyton alone.

"Nathan told me your parents were pretty chill too. I mean, I figured they must be letting you date him," Peyton joked referring to his playboy past and emancipated status.

Haley laughed softly. "Yeah, I mean they're practically modern hippies. They believe in us making our own choices and mistakes."

"That's really cool of them."

"Yeah, it is," Haley smiled thinking of her family. "Though, my dad was pretty close on foregoing that whole philosophy after my last breakup."

Peyton nodded understanding. "I get it. But hey, dads are always protective. Are you really close with them? Your family I mean."

"Yeah, I guess I am. You share a bathroom and bedroom with them, you get pretty close. But now my siblings are all older and half of them already started their own families. How 'bout you?"

"I have a brother, well half-brother." Peyton proceeded to tell Haley about her being adopted and him being her biological brother.

Haley lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, and I thought Nathan and Lucas had a complicated history."

Peyton laughed. "Yeah, go figure."

Haley looked through the box of nail polishes set on Peyton's bed when she stopped to say something.

"Can I ask you something?" Haley asked hesitantly. She was never one to open herself up vulnerably to anyone besides those she trusted but Peyton had this vibe around her that Haley felt was positive and welcoming.

"Sure, shoot," Peyton replied. She had just begun sketching in her sketchbook.

"What do you know about Nathan's parents?"

Peyton put down her pencil. "He told you about them?"

"Sort of. Today they were kind of brought up and I tried to get him to open up and he did for a bit but then shut back down again."

Peyton nodded, fully understanding. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Haley continued, "I'm only asking because lately everything's been really good with Nathan and this was the first real conversation we've ever had that goes beyond us and we didn't get really far."

Peyton noticed right away the vulnerability in Haley's words and behavior. She also assumed that this was not a side she showed often. "Look, when it comes to the Scotts, Nathan doesn't say much. I mean yes he's complained but I've never heard him have an open and honest conversation about them. I mean, at least we've never had one."

"Not even when you two dated?" Haley asked against her better judgement.

Peyton curtly smiled. "Not even then. Truth be told we didn't really communicate a whole lot that year. I like to think it almost never happened."

Haley chuckled. "What?" Peyton asked with a small chuckle of her own.

Haley shook her head in dismissal. "Nothing, it's just- You and Nathan seem to share the same philosophy on that."

Peyton nodded. "Yeah." She paused. "Haley, you know I'm not a threat to you and Nathan's relationship right?"

Haley looked up from the box of nail polishes. "Yeah, I know," she smiled to reassure the blonde. "Besides, I think it's nice that despite everything you two are still friends."

Peyton nodded, glad she got that out of the way. She was worried she and Haley wouldn't be able to get along because of her and Nathan's history. "Yeah, me too. And I hope this doesn't cross a line but, if he's already opening up, even if it's just a bit then you and Nathan have already gone farther than we ever did."

Haley smiled. "Thanks Peyton. That actually makes me feel a lot better."

A while later Haley finished doing her nails and looked over at Peyton who was sketching in her black sketchbook.

"What are you drawing?"

Peyton blushed as she put her pen down and flipped the sketchbook so Haley could see.

"Oh my God. Is that- Is that Jake?"

Peyton nodded shyly. "Yeah."

"That's really good, Peyton. I can't believe you're doing that out of memory," Haley complimented.

"Thanks," she smiled appreciatively. She placed the sketchbook back on her lap to continue working on it.

"Do you like him?"

"Jake?" she asked. Haley nodded. Peyton shrugged after contemplating it for a moment. "He's a good guy."

"He's a great guy," Haley upgraded.

Peyton chuckled. "Yeah, he is."

"He's a really great dad, too." Haley saw Peyton stop shading when she mentioned that. "Is that why you're not sure if you like him? Because he's a dad?" She knows it could be overwhelming for anyone to get involved with a single parent, especially if that someone was still in high school.

Peyton smiled softly. "I do like him, Haley," she admitted. "Like you said he's a great guy and yes he's a dad, but it's also kind of early to tell. But I'm not opposed to us getting there. Do you know what I mean?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah, I do," she smiled.

After a short pause Peyton told Haley, "You're good for Nathan you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I always knew he had the potential to be a really good guy and an even better boyfriend. And I'm really happy you were the one to bring it out in him, Haley."

"Thanks Peyton," Haley said surprised at her words. "You could be good for Jake too, you know?" she added smiling.

Peyton laughed at her persistence. "Actually I think I'm the Nathan in our scenario so he would be good for me."

"True," Haley conceded laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked a panting Brooke. She appeared at the bedroom door holding a couple of clothes bags in her arms. "Aw man, did you guys bond without me?" she pouted.

"Don't worry Tigger, I haven't shared all my deepest darkest secrets yet," Haley responded amused. "What's that?"

"Glad you asked Tutor Girl. These are a few of my designs that I want you to try on." Brooke then took the designs out and hung them on Peyton's door closet. Haley stood up to look at them. They were beautiful and Haley could tell Brooke was very talented, but she still wondered something.

Haley turned to Brooke and asked confused, "How did you know my size?"

"Well first I asked Nathan but he had no clue," Brooke rolled her eyes. "So I called Jake after and he didn't know either, but since he was in closer proximity to you I made him check your closet."

Haley and Peyton laughed at Brooke's determination and the fact that she got Jake to do what she wanted after only meeting him once.

"These are beautiful, Brooke! But they're way to fancy to wear on a regular basis," Haley noted after looking through the dresses.

"They're for Homecoming Tutor Girl," Brooke replied in an obvious tone.

"Oh," Haley replied.

"She's right, Brooke. You really outdid yourself," Peyton commented.

"Thanks P. Sawyer," she winked. "This one's for you," she handed her a light blue dress. "You'll make Ian swoon on the dance floor."

Peyton dropped her smile. "Seriously, Brooke?"

The brunette shrugged innocently. "What? He asked you out."

"And I said no."

"Why?" Brooke asked suspiciously. "Is it because there's someone else?" she prodded. She's been dying to know about Peyton and Jake's newly formed friendship. They've been talking for the past two weeks.

"No," Peyton answered instantly. "Because he's a creep."

Brooke's lips pursed before releasing a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. He's a total perv." She turned to Haley to explain, "He's always walking around with a camera taking pictures of her."

Haley looked at Peyton for confirmation who simply nodded.

"Why does he even carry a camera on campus?" asked Haley.

"He has a valid reason, he's on the yearbook committee, but still. Total creep." Brooke shuddered before perking up. "Anyways, I can't wait for Homecoming!"

"It's not for another month, Brooke," Peyton stated amused.

"So? Haven't you ever heard of planning ahead?"

Peyton chuckled.

"When exactly is your Homecoming?" asked Haley.

"October 10th."

"Oh, my school's is the same date."

Brooke looked up from her current task. "What? No! Wait, when Nathan asked you to Homecoming did he specify his or yours?"

"Um, Brooke, he didn't ask me."

"What?!"

"It's okay, though. I wasn't planning on going anyway."

"No, that's unacceptable. You two are a couple and as established by law you two are going to homecoming. Either yours, or preferably ours."

"Brooke," Peyton started, seeing Haley's confused state, "Don't you think you're overreacting?"

"No. As a matter of fact, both of you are underreacting. Especially you Peyt! We both know that a certain redhead is going to dig her claws into Nate and soon."

"What are you talking about?" spoke up Haley.

Brooke sighed. "Okay tutor girl, buckle up. You know about Nathan's old man-whore ways, correct?"

Haley blinked at the bluntness of Brooke's words but nodded nonetheless.

"Well, there was a certain new girl who, to put it lightly, hadn't gotten him yet and just when she was about to seal the deal Nathan was going through the whole emancipation process then he kind of strayed from the party scene, where mind you is really when they ever interacted. Anyways, time passed and summer rolled in. You happened and wah-la!"

"I'm still not following," Haley stated.

"You know for a tutor, you'd think you would've listened more carefully."

"Brooke!"

"Fine, sorry. Anyways, my point is that if you show up to Homecoming with Nathan, Rachel along with other girls, will back off indefinitely."

Haley let out a laugh.

"What?" Brooke asked confused about the humor in the situation.

"I'm sorry, it's just. Brooke I'm not going to the dance for the sole purpose of flaunting my relationship."

"Fine, then go for you and Nathan. We all know you two need a decent date and evening out. Homecoming can be it."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Haley agreed quietly.

Brooke smiled in victory. "Great, now let's call Nate to make sure he's on board with the plan."

"Brooke, wait, I don't want to force him just because we ask."

"Sweetie, he won't ask unless he knows you want to go. Trust me. Nate is great and all but he's a clueless boy," she stated rolling her eyes.

Haley turned to Peyton and she nodded in agreement to Brooke's statement. "She's right. He's never been the type to go to dances himself so he doesn't really know if you'll want to go unless you make it clear."

Haley took a deep breath in and slowly let out. "Okay. But if I call him, we're going to my school's dance." She noticed Brooke was going to cut in so she spoke up before she could, "My decision."

Brooke rose her eyebrows in surprise at her harsh tone then smiled impressed that Haley could give as much as she could take. She looked over at Peyton who shared the same look.

Yes, Brooke and Peyton decided then that Haley would be a great addition to their friend group.

* * *

 **XI**

* * *

Sorry for the long wait. Let me know what you thought of this update in a review :)

(also if you received any notifications of past chapters they're simply because I re-titled the chapters)

\- R. xx


	12. Chapter 12

"Tutor Girl!"

Haley turned around and saw Brooke approaching her with an amused grin.

"How many times have we told you that knocking is useless and a waste of time?"

"It just feels odd barging in," Haley shrugged sheepishly.

"Please. If Peyton _really_ cared who comes in she'd lock the door. Besides, this is Tree Hill. Who's going to rob her? It's not like any real crimes happen here. Unless you consider neglecting your children one," Brooke cracked a smile.

The girls shared a soft chuckle. The past couple weeks Haley's grown closer with the girls and learned about Brooke's own struggle with her absentee parents. "What's in there?" she nodded to the small case in Brooke's hands.

"This," the bubbly brunette lifted, "holds my essentials. At least makeup wise. Did you bring yours?"

Haley shook her head. "No. I don't have much makeup let alone to fill a whole case. But I did my makeup at home already so I just really have to change."

It was the second all-ages night at Tric that month and the Tree Hill gang had invited Haley and Jake to join since they missed the first one a few weeks back. Haley, now more acquainted with Brooke and Peyton, agreed to meet up with them a few hours before the night would start to get ready and then meet up with the guys at the club. Though by the look on Brooke's horrified face after she announced she was all set for the night, Haley was slowly beginning to regret it.

"I hate to burst your bubble Tutor Girl, but this is so not okay. Sure your makeup looks great, it's actually very flattering on you, but that's the problem! It's too subtle! Tric is a _club_ Haley! Which means we go all out, now come on we have a lot of work to do." Brooke latched onto Haley before she could protest, entered the house, and headed straight upstairs.

Truthfully Haley was just too surprised Brooke called her by her first name to say no.

Peyton was switching the vinyl on her record player when Brooke and Haley walked into her bedroom.

"There'll be plenty of time to play DJ tonight at Tric Goldilocks, now get over here so we can pick out an outfit that'll make Jake's jaw drop."

Haley chuckled at Brooke's comment while Peyton simply rolled her eyes.

"What? No denial? Have you finally accepted your fate with Jagielski, P. Sawyer?" asked Brooke.

Instead of responding right away, Peyton grabbed one of the miniskirts Brooke had placed on the bed for choosing and walked straight to the bathroom.

Brooke and Haley exchanged a glance before both heading towards the same direction.

They both hung on opposite sides of the closed bathroom door waiting for Peyton to exit.

When the blonde reappeared she wasn't at all fazed by the girls' lingering presence.

"How does this look?" Peyton asked smoothing out the wrinkles on the skirt.

"Hot. See, that's how you answer a question. Now it's your turn. What's going on with you and Jake?" Brooke asked with a raised brow.

Peyton sighed. "He said he wanted to ask me something. Tonight."

Brooke's eyes widened with glee. "What? When did he tell you that?"

"Yesterday. We were texting and he brought it up. He said it was something he wanted to ask in person."

"Well, why didn't you say anything? We could've freaked out together," Brooke glanced over at Haley to see if she was just as mad but she seemed to be pretty calm. "Tutor Girl, why aren't you more upset?"

"Why would I be upset?" asked a confused Haley.

"I don't know," Brooke crossed her arms. "Maybe because two of your closest friends may start dating soon. And you seem way too collected to have heard this news for the first time. What aren't you telling us Tutor Girl?" Brooke accused with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing. I swear."

"Oh come on! You must know what he's going to ask her, I mean you _are_ his best friend."

"Well, yeah. But he never mentioned anything about asking Peyton out. I mean, does he like her? Yes. I mean he hasn't said it in so many words but I can tell. He's also not one to push, especially considering he has his own baggage, not that I would call Jenny baggage I'm just saying being a teenage father entails some form of emotional carry-on not to mention different priorities and responsibilities—"

"Tutor Girl," Brooke cut in.

"Oh, right. Anyways, my point is, if he is asking Peyton out, I have no idea about it."

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I believe you. For now."

"Brooke, he probably knew you'd interrogate her if he told her anything," Peyton brought up.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Still, this is big! Peyton, you and Jake are going to be an item soon enough. And ooh! We could all go on a triple date. Me and Lucas, Haley and Nate, and you and Jake."

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself Brooke. I mean we don't even know if he's asking me out."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Please. He's asking you out. Back me up on this tutor girl."

"I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't rule it out just yet."

Brooke smirked. "See. Straight from the best friend's mouth."

Haley noticed Peyton's look and couldn't quite decipher it. "Peyton, if he does ask you out, are you going to say yes?"

"Of course she is, Tutor girl. What kind of question is that? Right, Peyt?" Brooke looked over at Peyton and noticed that same look Haley saw. "You are going to say yes, right?"

* * *

Jake parked his car and headed up the stairs to Nathan's apartment. He shook his head at the time as he glanced at his watch—it was three hours before Tric would open. He had just dropped off Haley at Peyton's house because the girls _needed_ to get ready together for the night. He concluded it didn't make much sense to drive back home then back up to Tree Hill so he decided to stay. Thankfully, Nathan heard and invited him over to hang out until it was time.

Jake approached Nathan's apartment with his duffle bag and just as he was about to knock, the door opened showing Nathan and a visitor.

"Thanks again, I really appreciated it," the visitor spoke.

"No problem, that's what neighbors are for, right?"

The visitor laughed. "Right. And if you ever need anything yourself; sugar, milk, or booze just let me know. I'm only two doors down." The visitor smiled then stepped out of his apartment only to run into Jake. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Jake smiled curtly. "No worries."

The visitor smiled before turning back to Nathan, "See you around Nate."

"Yeah. See ya," Nathan waved as she walked to her apartment. "Hey, man," he greeted Jake with a half hug.

"Hey. Who was that?" he nodded in the direction of the young woman.

"New neighbor. I helped her bring some stuff up to her place and she brought over some brownies just now. Want one? They're pretty good."

"Yeah, sure," Jake shrugged.

The two boys entered the apartment and headed straight to the kitchen counter.

"Mmm, these are pretty good."

Nathan nodded in agreement as he took another bite.

"So, uh where should I put my bag?" Jake asked. Since the concert was supposed to end so late Haley and Jake made plans to spend the night in Nathan's apartment while Jenny was in the care of his parents.

"Couch is cool with me."

"Sweet. And thanks again for letting us crash here tonight. Also, thanks for letting me hang out her till later."

"Yeah man, of course," Nathan replied.

"I totally would've just left home at like 9 but Hales said we had to be here at least a couple hours early."

"Yeah, Brooke called her up."

"Should've known. You know she got my number somehow and had me go into Haley's closet to find out her dress size."

Nathan chuckled.

"You don't look surprised," Jake smiled.

"It sounds like her, that's why. She's pretty persuasive."

"So she is. In that case, why'd she settle for Luke?" Jake teased.

Nathan laughed alongside Jake.

"You know, now that you mention him, he should be here soon," Nathan glanced at his watch just as a knock was heard.

Lucas waltzed in moments later. "Hey guys. Ooh, are those brownies?"

"Yeah, help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do," Lucas stated as he grabbed one and took a bite. "Mmm, this is good shit. Where'd you get it from?"

"The girl next door," Jake answered.

"Is that some new bakery?" asked a confused Lucas.

Nathan and Jake laughed. "No man, he means literally the new girl that lives a couple doors down."

"Oh, right. The girl you helped move in. She single?"

"Why would you care? I thought your 'heart belonged to Brooke'," teased Nathan.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "It does. I'm asking for Jake."

"Me?" asked a confused Jake. "Why?"

Lucas shrugged. "I don't know man, I just figure you're single, why not?"

Jake scoffed. "I'm good, thanks though."

"What? Is she not attractive?"

"It's not that, I just… I'm not looking to get set up," replied Jake.

"Yeah, Luke. I mean, haven't you noticed by now Jake has the hots for another blonde. Our very own Peyton Sawyer."

Jake softly shook his head in denial.

"Really?" Lucas asked with intrigue. "You and Peyton?"

"There is no me and Peyton, okay guys. We're just friends."

Nathan scoffed. "Please. That's what Luke used to say about her."

Lucas gave his brother a dirty look and Jake noticed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jake asked.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Nathan. "Peyton didn't tell you?"

Jake took note that Lucas immediately became quiet. "Tell me what?"

Lucas cut in before Nathan could explain, "We sort of had an affair about a year ago."

"Affair? That sounds so Desperate Housewives. I mean it isn't really an affair unless you…" that's when Jake realized, "cheat on someone. You cheated on Brooke with Peyton?"

"Yeah, I'm not proud of it. Neither of us are, but we moved on. Just do me a favor and don't bring it up in front of Brooke. She may have forgiven us but it's still a sore subject."

"Yeah, uh, no worries man."

Nathan could feel the tension so he decided to change the topic to something lighter. "So, do you guys feel like playing some ball to kill some time?"

Lucas and Jake saw Nathan reach down for his basketball.

"Let's do it."

* * *

Two hours later, after the boys finished their game and showered, they headed to Tric where they were set to meet up with the girls.

"I can't believe you lost, dude. I'm actually ashamed to be your brother right now," spoke Nathan as he pulled into Tric's parking lot.

Lucas scoffed. "You know damn well it's because the sun got in my eyes with that last shot."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Still lost."

Jake stayed quiet and modest in the back seat as Nathan parked the car.

"Whatever, man. I demand a rematch later on."

"Sure, Luke. And, hey, if you want you can start with 5 points, if that'll help you," joked Jake.

The guys continued to rib Lucas as they walked towards the entrance of the nightclub.

"Hey, is that Peyton's?" Jake nodded towards her Comet.

"Yeah, she got here early to help set up stuff. Haley and Brooke are gonna be by later. Brooke texted me saying we could head in and they'd meet us inside."

After a half hour passed, Nathan was beginning to get jittery. "Man, where are they?" he started pacing around the table.

"Dude, relax. You know how Brooke likes to be fashionably late," Lucas replied.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Did you text her?"

"Yeah, and still no reply. But chill, it's probably because she's driving already. No need to get so worried."

"Yeah, Nate. You look like a vein could pop any second. You alright there?" Jake asked.

"Peachy."

"Is he always like this?" Jake turned to Lucas.

"Only when it comes to Haley," Lucas responded.

"Figured as much," Jake muttered.

"Hey guys!"

The boys turned around and saw a grinning Peyton.

"Hey Peyt. The place looks great."

"Thanks Luke." She turned to Jake. "Hey I'm glad you made it."

"Me too. You look nice."

In that moment Peyton was grateful for Brooke's insistence on blush or else they would've noticed her naturally flushed face.

"Thanks, you do too. Um, where's Nathan?"

"Behind you," Nathan spoke.

"Hey!" she leaned in for a hug.

"Hey. You did a pretty killer job Sawyer, as always."

"Thanks," she smiled. "You look a little squirmy. Waiting on Haley?"

"That obvious?"

"Yup. But only to us," she grinned. "She'll be here soon, don't worry."

"She's not responding to my texts or calls."

"Her phone died and she forgot her charger in Jake's car. She's fine Nate. Go relax. Get a drink."

"A non-alcoholic drink," peeped in Karen.

"Of course," Peyton responded amused. "I'm gonna head backstage to see if everything's all good to go. I'll see you guys later."

"Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to let Peyton and Keith take over tonight?" asked a concerned Lucas. After all, his mother was still pregnant.

"Oh don't be such a worrier Luke, I'm fine. Besides they're still in control, I'm just here to enjoy the show." Karen turned to the other boys. "Hi boys. Jake I'm so glad to see you made it."

"Thanks Karen," he smiled.

"Where's Haley? I would've expected her and Nathan to be attached at the hip already. Same with Brooke and my son."

Jake laughed. "They're on their way."

Karen nodded, understanding already. "Right. Well, I'm going to go steal a closer seat to the stage. I'll see you boys around."

"Bye Karen."

"Bye mom."

A few more minutes passed before Brooke and Haley finally arrived.

"I still can't believe you Tutor Girl," stated Brooke as the two walked up the stairs into Tric.

Haley playfully rolled her eyes at her friend. Brooke had tried convincing her for a little makeover but Haley stopped after Brooke suggested a very short skirt that would leave little to no imagination if she ever needed to bend over. Needless to say she stuck with her own makeup and her own jeans, but let Brooke do her hair and choose a top for her—a rather risqué top for Haley.

"I'm already wearing your shirt Brooke, I think this was a good compromise. Especially since this is definitely not my style," she stated as she pulled on the halter top.

"Stop fidgeting, you look hot. Now, let's find our boys."

Brooke spotted them almost immediately and ran straight to Lucas, surprising him with a hug from behind. "Hi Boyfriend."

He turned around slowly and embraced her with his own arms. "Hi Pretty Girl." The two proceeded to kiss which left Jake to awkwardly change his direction of vision towards another a couple.

"Hi Nathan," Haley greeted.

"Hey, wow, you look… wow."

"Is that a good wow?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, yeah, it's a great wow. You look beautiful Hales."

Haley smiled shyly and blushed softly causing Nathan to grin and kiss her cheek.

"Where's your stuff?" Nathan asked.

"In Brooke's car. We can take it before we go."

"Sounds good."

"Hey Hales," Jake spoke up.

"Hey Jake."

"You look good."

"Thanks. So how's the place so far?"

"It's really cool. Awesome music. Peyton did a fantastic job. And get this, the band that's playing tonight toured with Fall Out Boy last summer."

"No way! That's incredible."

"Peyton's really good at getting bands to play here. Her determination is basically at a Brooke level," Nathan joked.

"You joke but it's true," Brooke agreed.

The group chatted for a bit before they saw Peyton appear on stage to introduce the first performer.

The concert proceeded and the gang listened intently and danced to the music surrounding the club.

The band was good, better even, but Nathan kept his attention on the short girl in his arms.

He whispered in her hear, "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

Haley wanted to say no, wanted to stay to listen to the rest of the band's set. But when she turned to look up at her boyfriend and she saw the soft look he was giving her she couldn't say no. In fact, she couldn't even say yes. She was paralyzed by his mere expression. Instead she nodded and he grabbed her hand and walked them out of the club, but not before handing his keys to Jake and letting him know they were leaving.

* * *

Despite the late hour and the cold temperature, Haley and Nathan decided to take a nice stroll towards the beautifully lit river walk.

"It's so nice out here. It's quiet. I love it," Haley stated.

"Yeah, it is."

Nathan had placed his jacket around her cold shoulders and was holding her hand with his own as they continued to walk and talk in the direction of his apartment.

"It's amazing how close everything is to everyone. It must be nice living in a small town like this."

"It has its moments. But small towns can't really keep secrets. A lot of drama happens in Tree Hill."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," Haley joked.

Comfortable silence surrounded them, but it didn't stop Nathan from noticing something was off.

"What's on your mind?"

"Hmm?" she turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"Something's up with you." He stopped the two of them and turned her to face him completely. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"How do you know something's up with me?"

"You have a tell." She made an unconvinced face. "When you're nervous you bite your lip. It's almost as if you want to say something but are afraid to. Or you want to say something but can't. So which is it?"

"You shouldn't know that look or that tell yet," she pointed at him accusingly. He just smiled in return. "And I don't know. I guess, I'm just a little nervous about… tonight."

It would be the first night Haley would spend with Nathan, and although Jake would be staying on the couch just a few feet away from them, she still found the thought both intimate and intimidating.

Nathan nodded, now fully understanding. "You know there's no pressure for anything, right?"

"No, of course I know that Nathan. It's just me. I know it may sound silly but sharing a bed is still kind of new territory for me, even if it is just for sleeping. But I'm glad it's with you," she smiled broadly before leaning up and giving him a kiss that showed him she meant it.

* * *

They eventually made it to Nathan's apartment complex and began climbing the stairs. They were holding hands and grinning at each other as they approached the top of the staircase. Nearing the door Haley noticed first that there was a dark figure leaning on the railing adjacent to Nathan's apartment door.

She quickly nudged him to see and whispered, "Nathan." It was almost too dark for her to actually see Nathan's face expression but because of the hall's dimming light she saw the recognition in his eyes. "Who is it?" she asked realizing he knew who the late visitor was. Not to mention she could feel a difference in his grip—what once was a loving touch now felt like a protective hold.

"My father," he gritted.

Haley's eyes widened in shock. She knew they don't speak often let alone have seen each other in months. She heard the stories though. And she had to wonder, was he really that bad?

"What are you doing here, Dad?" Nathan asked, still keeping his hold on Haley. He held onto her for dear life, afraid she would run if he let go after witnessing his messed up family life. But at the same time, he knew she wouldn't, because her caressing thumb assured him she was there for him.

"What? Can't a father visit his son?" Dan asked mockingly.

"Then why don't you pay Lucas a visit?" shot back Nathan.

Haley could feel the tension and anger radiating off of both the father and son.

Dan chose to ignore Nathan's quip and gestured toward Haley. "You going to introduce me to your little friend here?"

Nathan didn't answer, instead he kept his mouth shut and his jaw locked. Afraid of his unpredictability, Haley spoke up. "I'm Haley, Nathan's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you Mr. Scott," she smiled politely sticking out her hand.

Dan looked at her hand before extending his own. "For tonight you mean. I get it. I was young once," he winked causing the young couple to gag internally.

Nathan looked at Haley and mustered a small smile offering his apologies for his father. She smiled back letting him know it was fine.

"Seriously dad, what are you doing here?"

"I heard you went to High Flyers. Congratulations. Just wish I would've heard from you rather than from Carl Jenkins when he came by the shop." Nathan rolled his eyes. Of course he would come by for something relating to basketball. "So how was it?"

"It was good. I learned a lot. Are we done now?" Nathan asked irritated. He just wanted this conversation to be done with, and Dan could tell.

"Sure. It was... interesting to meet you, Miss…?" he asked Haley.

"James. Haley James," she quickly answered and politely shook the hand he stuck out.

"Right." He turned to Nathan. "Son. I'll see you soon."

"Doubtful," Nathan muttered.

Dan heard but let it slide. He began to walk away but not before turning back around and saying, "Nate! When you stop playing house with this week's belt notch, I suggest you come home. Your drunk of a mother misses you."

Haley knew now, he really was as bad as everyone said.

Nathan couldn't open the door fast enough and his previously good mood was now a distant feeling. "God! I can't believe that asshole! Haley, I'm so sorry you had to be there when that happened. Hell, I'm sorry you even met him." He was pacing and Haley knew he did that out of nervous habit. She swiftly grabbed his hand and led him to his couch.

"I know you're pissed at your dad Nathan and believe me I am too. But despite all his wrongdoings something good came from him too." He looked at her confused as hell. "You! You're the one good thing. And I'm thankful for that because I don't know what I'd do without you, Nathan."

"I don't know what I'd do without you either," he responded honestly. She smiled back and continued to caress his hands in an attempt to soothe him. He soon blurted, "I love you, Hales."

She gaped her mouth open in surprise and instinctively turned away from him. It was so unexpected.

"I know it might be too soon. But I do. And it's scary. I mean, literally, I'm scared shitless for how much I feel for you Hales, but there it is. I love you," he repeated.

Haley's heart warmed at his words. "Wow. There it is." She faced him smiling softly and kissed him before returning his sentiments. "I love you, too."

* * *

 **XII.**

* * *

 **A/N:** Again, sorry for the delay. I got kind of stuck with this chapter but I hope you're still with me because I haven't given up on this story yet :) follow & favorite and leave a review letting me know what you thought.

\- R. xx


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